NO FREE PASSES

Ben Olson’s college football career has been out there waiting and waiting and waiting and, yes, waiting.

The UCLA quarterback has eyeballed his long-held dreams from St. George, Utah, this pastweek, where he was relaxing with his new bride.

“The calm before the storm,” Olson said. “I’m ready to get going.”

Yes, the wait is over, or so reads the Bruins’ powder blueprint.

The Olson legacy has gathered considerable dust in the five years since he was anointed the top recruit in the nation as a senior at Thousand Oaks High. Now 24, he stands closer to his 10-year reunion than his high school graduation day. There is still time to prevent the “whatever-happened-to...” conversations when his classmates gather.

Said Olson, “The way I look at it, the time is now.”

The knee injury that ended his 2006 season in the fifth game has healed. The job is his, as Olson saunters into fall camp Monday as the No. 1 quarterback. The possibilities are ripe, with 10 starters returning on offense.

Team expectations have given a jolt to those placed on Olson.

“If Ben Olson doesn’t have success early, he’s going to feel some heat,” said former Bruins quarterback David Norrie, now an ABC analyst. “...I believe he is somewhat an unknown. I don’t want to come across as knocking him, but I don’t think his body of work will allow him to be the guy indefinitely, no matter the success or lack of success UCLA has. He has to do it fairly quickly.”

Olson’s career path has wandered down detours -- not unheard of. But when compared to his peers, a failure to launch is evident.

David Anderson, who was on the receiving end of many of Olson’s passes in high school, already plays in the NFL for the Houston Texans. The Phoenix Cardinals’ Matt Leinart, who is three months younger than Olson, has a Heisman Trophy, a couple of national titles with USC and a bundle of cash. Even California quarterback Nate Longshore has evolved. He was a sophomore at Canyon Country Canyon when Olson had his coronation as a senior at nearby Thousand Oaks. Now both are college juniors, except Longshore has a Pac-10 co-championship on his resume.

“I just remember this huge entourage of media that followed him every time he came to a summer passing league,” Longshore said. “I remember hearing how good he was, watching him, being in awe of him and everybody around him.”

There are reasonable explanations for the delay: a two-year Mormon mission, a transfer from BYU and injuries the last two seasons at UCLA.

“He has a very good, outgoing personality that served him well dealing with what he had to deal with,” said Steve Clarkson, a private quarterback coach who has worked with Olson.

The expectations, though, are never far from Olson’s thoughts.

“I’d be lying if I said they haven’t gone through my mind,” he said. “It hasn’t gone how I drew it up, but what in life goes as planned? There is no sense of disappointment, but I’m not satisfied in any sense.”

None of that self-evaluation was apparent to teammates after Olson won the starting job last summer.

“The first series last season, he came into the huddle and [said], ‘This is going to be easier than practice because coaches aren’t out here yelling at us,’ ” Bruins center Chris Joseph said.

Olson completed 25 of 33 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-10 victory over Utah that day. All seemed right in his world.

That changed after a series of inconsistent performances, ending when Olson suffered that knee injury against Arizona. Patrick Cowan took over and, though less skilled, won games down the stretch, including the 13-9 victory over USC.

Coach Karl Dorrell gave the job back to Olson last spring, allowing him to assume a more vocal leadership role this summer.

“It was harder for him before,” defensive end Bruce Davis said. “There were two guys there, Patrick and Ben, and you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. You could see Ben taking command this summer.”

One reason for Olson’s unwavering confidence can be found off the field.

“Being married has helped me put things in perspective,” said Olson, who tied the knot with Andrea Anderson in May. “It means I have to work harder in every aspect of my life. I have a wife, I have responsibilities.”

Having an old married guy running things is comforting to his teammates. Being the oldest player adds weight to his words.

“I would never bring that up, but I can just imagine the leather helmets when he played in high school,” Davis joked. “But what that means is, he has had more life experiences. That can only help under pressure.”

That pressure probably will build. The Bruins have 20 starters back and no real hardships on their nonconference schedule. A BCS bowl and a double-digits win total are considered realistic.

The concern is with the offense, which wheezed through last season and has had a makeover under new offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. And while Olson has the job, Cowan again waits, only this time as a proven understudy.

“Physically, Ben has all the tools. He just needs to do it over a long period of time,” Clarkson said.

Which is exactly the point, say those waiting to see if Olson has caught up with his career.

“He was the No. 1 recruit in the nation,” Norrie said. “That has always been a tag and, hopefully, for Ben’s sake, that doesn’t become an albatross. When you’re the No. 1 recruit in the country and you don’t deliver, especially if you’re a quarterback, you get classified as a myth.”

chris.foster@latimes.com