Blind long-snapper Jake Olson joins Trojans 'as a player'

Jake Olson, a blind long-snapper who had hoped to join USC as a walk-on, has achieved his goal.

He tweeted Monday night that he will join the Trojans "as a player," writing:

USC tweeted that Tuesday would be "Olson's first practice as an official member of the USC Football team."

He joined the Trojans on Tuesday morning, making snap on extra points during practice.

Olson, a freshman, has been waiting to be cleared by the NCAA. He received a Swim With Mike scholarship, given to physically challenged athletes. The NCAA considered it an athletic scholarship, which meant he could not be classified as a walk-on for the football team, and the Trojans did not have a roster slot in the 2015 class for another scholarship player, leaving Olson in limbo.

Olson was born with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the retina. He lost his left eye at 10 months and endured numerous procedures designed to save the right eye. He was 12 when doctors determined it would need to be removed.

Olson also is a lifelong Trojans fan and was introduced to the team when Pete Carroll was the coach. Carroll welcomed Olson as a frequent visitor to USC practices and games, and they developed a connection while Olson still had sight in his right eye.

When Olson learned in 2009 that he would need the surgery that would cause him to completely lose his sight, among his requests were a visit to Notre Dame Stadium to watch the Trojans face the Irish and a trip to USC practice the night before the surgery.

When he arrived in high school at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran, Olson went out for football and made the team as the starting long-snapper.

Trojans coach Steve Sarkisian previously said he would welcome Olson as part of the team with the goal of having him long snap during a game.

ESPN.com's Garry Paskwietz, Kevin Gemmell and Kyle Bonagura contributed to this report.