Ex-Chargers, Ohio State Football Star Shane Olivea Dead At 40
Shane Olivea Dead At 40 ... Ex-Chargers, OSU Star
Former Ohio State star Shane Olivea -- who played for the San Diego Chargers after his time in Columbus -- died on Wednesday, his good friend and ex-Buckeye teammate Bobby Carpenter announced.
He was just 40 years old.
Carpenter did not reveal a cause of the death ... but said the former offensive lineman passed away at night.
On the heels of two of my great friends (Buckeye Teammates) Birthdays.... Schlegs and Nuge
— Bobby Carpenter (@Bcarp3) March 3, 2022 @Bcarp3
Woke to the sobering news that @OhioStateFB lost a great one this morning. Shane Olivea passed last night.
Shane played OT at OSU from 2000-2003. National Champ and All Big 10 pic.twitter.com/tP22OKuqEr
"I'll never forget the kindness he showed to a young freshman who was clueless and didn't know anything about anything," Carpenter said in a statement on Twitter. "#RIPShane #Thankyou."
Olivea played for the Buckeyes from 2000 to 2003, and won a national championship with the team in 2002. He went on to get picked by the Chargers in the seventh round of the '04 draft, and started 57 games for the Bolts from 2004 to 2007.
Sadly, an addiction to pain killers ended up derailing his career following the '07 season. Olivea had said to The Columbus Dispatch in 2017 that his addiction during his playing days was so bad, doctors told him he was fortunate to be alive.
Olivea went to rehab and eventually got better, and he later said he had aspirations of coaching football and mentoring kids.
"Very sad to hear the news of my former teammate Shane Olivea," ex-NFL O-lineman Roman Oben said on Twitter after learning of the news. "Praying for his family today."
RIP.
