Rutgers football: Greg Schiano was impressed with E.J. Warner, the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner
PHILADELPHIA, PA — E.J. Warner had a solid first start for Temple football on Saturday, earning the praise of his own head coach as well as Greg Schiano on the opposing sideline.
He is the son of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who spent 12 NFL seasons where he won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams franchise. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback then played with the New York Giants and the last five seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals.
On Saturday, E.J. Warner had a strong day against a Rutgers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) defense that had allowed just 29 combined points through the first two games of the season. Despite some heavy pressure from Rutgers, in particular in the second half, E.J. Warner was 19-of-32 for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception in what was a 16-14 loss to Rutgers.
He showed poise, good pocket presence and consistently made the right reads against a very strong secondary. It was an impressive performance from the freshman quarterback, especially in his ball placement.
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His performance on Saturday left Schiano, the Rutgers head coach, impressed.
“He’s very decisive. He can take a hit and get rid of the ball accurately,” Schiano said.
“There was one today where I literally thought he threw up a hook shot and I thought that’s picked off and converted a third down. The kid is a good player. I was very impressed and I told him after the game that he has got a bright future. You know and I understand he’s not the biggest guy and all that stuff. What he is is very – he’s got a feel for the game.”
In front of over 33,000 fans, it was a big performance from the 6-foot quarterback against a Big Ten program.
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It was the first collegiate start for E.J. Warner, who came on in the second half last week to lead Temple (1-2, 0-0 AAC) to a win over Lafayette in their home opener.
A recruit out of Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, AZ), E.J. Warner was a three-star who didn’t have a Power Five offer.
Temple head coach Stan Drayton appears to have a solution at the quarterback position after some uncertainty in training camp.
“I actually knew back in fall camp that he had the potential to be a leader and a really good quarterback,” Drayton said after the game.
“He studies the game, he understands the game. He came into our program already knowing our offense. I knew it would be a matter of time, didn’t know it was going to be this soon. He really earned our trust in fall camp.”
A first-year head coach, Drayton acknowledged that there is room for growth from E.J. Warner, even as it was a good first step for the Owls to get some stability on offense.
“Still growing, I feel that he is going to continue to get better. We need to get more consistency around him, more consistent play around him, we need to protect him so he can throw his ball on time. Our receivers are doing a good job, they can do a better job of getting open in man-coverage,” Drayton said.
“I think we have to do a really good job as coaches to put (in) a system that will fit his skillset.”
