He wasn’t the biggest. He wasn’t the strongest. He certainly wasn’t the fastest.
All Neal Olkewicz was was a rock-solid force in the middle for the Washington Redskins during their greatest years.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Olkewicz played college ball at Maryland. His 188 tackles made during his senior year of 1978 is, incredibly, still a Terps record.
Despite his stellar play, the 6’0”, 230-pound Olkewicz went undrafted. The Redskins remedied that by signing him as a free agent. He became a starter almost immediately. Two years later, Joe Gibbs became the Skins’ head coach, and the team would soon reach new heights.