College Football Fix: EJ Warner, Temple Owls Quarterback

I replaced all my Lululemon shorts with bird dogs. Bird dog shorts do the exact same thing but fit way better. They actually look like khaki shorts so I can wear them all day, for my morning hike or bike ride to the bar. I can't stop wearing them.

Join over 1 million guys who discovered the best shorts on the market. Go to birddogs.com slash MLB and enter promo code baseball for a free baseball hat with your order. That's birddogs.com slash MLB promo code baseball for a free hat.

You won't want to take your bird dogs off, we promise you. We miss college football. Bennett takes the snap and the shotgun throws for the corner Brock Bowers one on one caught touchdown he ate him alive falls down into the end zone six more for Georgia. We can't wait for the 2023 season. Caleb Williams throws the fade in the corner touchdown Trojans and we're counting down the days to kick off. Here is your college football fix only on the Zach Gelb show. 74 days away until Temple kicks off its 2023 season against Akron. I'm actually wearing a Temple polo right now. My alma mater and Elijah Warner in his freshman year for the owls won the American Athletic Conference rookie of the year.

The Temple QB clearly comes from a great family of football lineage with his father Kurt Warner starring in the NFL and being a hall of fame quarterback. His older brother Cade just wrapped up a very successful career at Kansas State where he won a big 12 championship and I'm really excited to see the sophomore year of Elijah Warner with the owls and he joins us right now. EJ it's Zach Gelb here in New York City appreciate the time. Thanks for doing this and how are you? I'm doing good I appreciate you for having me it's a really cool experience. So how do you look back at last year? I know that you weren't the starter right out of the gate for game number one but then quickly made your way onto the field that made a big impact.

How do you look back at your freshman year at Temple? Yeah really just grateful for everything that happened. I mean going into the season not really sure how it was all going to play out not sure if I was going to ever see the field and just got that opportunity come week two and just grateful that the coaches believed in me and that my teammates believed in me and I got to go out there and show what I could do.

It was a fun season just to be out there with my guys and basically just get a little taste of college football and hopefully it's more leading to come here soon this season. When you get an opportunity you got to take advantage of it you were able to do that. I know that it wasn't always smooth sailing but for the most part it did seem like a seamless transition. Why did it appear to be so easy once you got on the field and you renamed the starter? I think yeah I think I just prepared like I was the starter from the day I got here. I think no matter what I was in the depth chart I watched when I filmed, I practiced, I prepared like I was going to go in the game. When I finally got that opportunity I was comfortable and confident in what I could do and I think that showed and how just my preparation basically prepared me for that moment.

Elijah Warner here with us. I was nervous once the season ended because you had a very successful season especially with your last name and the way that you played on the field and with NIL I'm like uh oh maybe he's going to be going elsewhere. Were you ever close to leaving Temple and going into the transfer portal? I think just today in today's college football everyone always thinks about the portal and people leaving going to different school but really I just fell in love with Temple since I've been here and fell in love with the people here specifically.

I think just the last season just kind of get to play with the guys and kind of get to grow a relationship with them that I couldn't really leave. I wanted to stay here and help build this program, help build this up with coach Drayton and I'm definitely glad that I stayed and excited for the season. Where do you think the program is at right now because it wasn't that long ago and I was a student at Temple where they beat Penn State for the first time in 74 years.

They had college game day there for a big matchup and a close matchup against Notre Dame. Where is the trajectory of this program at now under Stan Drayton? Yeah I think we're just building this up. I think obviously we had a few down years there so just kind of trying to build up from the bottom and basically grow this team from inside out. I think we've got a lot of good players who are hungry. We've watched those games, we've seen what Temple has been in the past and we kind of just want to strive to get back to that point and kind of bring Temple back to what it was and I think just a lot of hungry players who are excited to show what they can do.

We have a lot of talent here, a really good culture we're trying to build and just yeah I think definitely definitely not there yet we're definitely on the right track and excited to hopefully show everyone what we can do this year. With the experience that you got in year one E.J. Warner what did you really keen in on and focus on this offseason to try to get the best version of yourself in your sophomore year? Yeah the biggest thing was just changing my body just coming in as an 18-year-old freshman.

It's hard just playing against people who are so much older than you. I think I wasn't really physically strong or mature enough where I needed to be so that's been a big big focal point this offseason in the weight room with my diet just kind of getting bigger and getting that extra strength I need to basically survive at this level and perform to my best ability and then just trying to be better as a leader. I think last year coming in with a young guy it's hard to just step in week two and try to be that vocal leader but I think now that I've had the season under my belt and had this offseason with the guys I can really they trust me and they trust that I put in the preparation that I know what I'm doing and I can go in there and I know how to get on people and I know how to lead better than I did last year. And I also think towards the end of the year what you were able to do up against Houston where you threw for 486 yards and three touchdowns and ECU where you threw for 527 yards and put up five touchdowns it just showed the progress that you were making.

How do you kind of look back at both those games and what you were able to do individually? Yeah just super fun experience I think throughout the course of the year you just saw our team get better and better you saw us get more faster the details you saw us come together as a team I think that showed on the field I definitely got more and more comfortable with the level play and the speed of the game that it kind of got to show in those last few weeks and against those two teams and those are some really fun games to go out there some high score and shoot outs just to go put up some points on the board and throw the ball around. Elijah Warner here with us I've known your dad for a while tremendous guy and clearly raised you the right way I remember when you were actually going on your visit at Temple he was asking me a few questions about the school but for you what really made you fall in love I just love to hear this as an alum what made you fall in love with Temple and why did you want to go there? I think it was just the people there's so many good people here and they have the best for us kids in mind it's not always just about on the field I mean you don't play football forever and they really have an interest in caring for us off the field and what we want to do in our lives and how we are as people and kind of building us as full men on and off the field I think that's a big part of it where just fell in love with everyone around here and wanted to come kind of grow this thing with them and and basically build the team up from from where we were so definitely definitely been fun just getting to know everybody and kind of being embraced in this culture and definitely glad with my decision.

How do you use your dad as a resource to kind of help you navigate all the things that are going on right now in college and trying to get the best version of EJ Warner when you step on that field? Yeah I mean he's really helpful he's been through so much and seen so much in the game that really any sort of situation I'm in I can kind of ask him for advice I'm in all day long I'm asking him questions calling him if anything comes up I can hit him real fast and he loves talking ball he loves he loves talking with me so anytime I get that chance to kind of pick his brain and get to know what he know and what he went through it's definitely cool just to just to have that person kind of lean back on and basically humble me in different situations and teach me different things that I've used on and off the field here at college. How did you fall in love with football by the way?

Yeah I think I kind of played a few sports growing up and didn't really know which one I liked more and then just in high school I think that grind of just showing what it needs to do to be great at the next level kind of kind of made me fall in love with it obviously like you said my dad and brother both played and that probably played a huge part and me wanting to do it as well but just kind of just love the game I think I think there's so much on the field that that's awesome about the game but I really love the part off the field where the x's and o's the breaking down film the stuff that that I've really fallen in love with that you can do you can do any time of the day you don't always need 11 guys out on the field to work on it I think that's really just the part I've fallen in love with and definitely definitely helped take my game to the next level. But when did you realize that your dad was a pretty big deal because I know you were born towards the end of your father's pro football career? Yeah I mean I remember being at the Super Bowl he was with the Cardinals yeah playing video games on my little DS just not really caring for what he was doing not really caring for football at the time and it's crazy to look back just just how much I've missed just being a young kid just trying to live my life not really worried about football but I think just over the past few years kind of like just learning about his career and learning what he went through and basically just just falling in love with the game myself kind of kind of made me realize what what all he done and what all he accomplished and then once he was inducted into the hall of fame that kind of kind of really wrapped it up full circle about how actually good he was as a sport not playing quarterback we always we always try to give him a hard time when we can but he's definitely definitely a special player and fun to look back at what he did. And your father I know he did not go to Temple but he kind of fits that that Temple tough brand that the Owls always preach. Yeah for sure he he went stories well documented he went through so much and definitely had so many hard times in his life and kind of fought through it and kept pushing and kept pushing obviously made it to where he did I think that fits fits our Temple mindset that doesn't matter what we have or what we're going through that there's brighter stuff on the other side if we just put our head down at work so definitely definitely fits and excited to be a part of that culture now.

The movie had to be pretty damn cool for your family right? Yeah it was awesome it was fun to see the whole process it was a long time in the making and just to finally see it being filmed and finally come out in theaters and get to watch watch my dad and watch my family kind of enjoy that and actually just watch it again the other night on tv just kind of looking back and basically getting to see see his story first person point of view where I mean I wasn't alive for most of it so just kind of got to get a picture it um in that sort of way and just watch all he's been doing let him let him share his story there's so much messages outside of football that that he went through that he can share with people and inspire people and help motivate them and those are really cool to see see the fans react to and they finally got to see the movie and just how many people it impacted around the world. Just naturally so many people are going to bring up your father but when they talk about you but if people don't know who Elijah Warner is and they weren't able to watch temple football just what do you bring to a football team not only on the field but also off the field as well? Yeah I think I just have a chip on my shoulder obviously my dad craves so many uh did so many big things in his career and I think in high school I mean I suffered through it a lot I had had a few injuries and kind of was under recruited so I definitely want to prove myself and going out there every time just to compete I'm a competitor and just love no matter what it is just to go out there and try to try to give my best to help help my team win so I think that's that's what you'll see on and off the field it's just a hard worker who always wants to go into a game fully prepared never wants to leave anything on the field kind of just go out there and give it his all and I think motivate the people around him to do the same. Yeah I can't wait for this football season for temple I'm going to be hanging out with the temple temperers those those great crazy guys so I'll be checking out the Rutgers game probably come down for the Miami game I was there for UMass last year what can I expect as we get set for your number two understand Drayden? Yeah I think you'll just see see a team that's fighting I think no matter what the scoreboard shows no matter no matter who we are I think just going out there and showing that we'll we'll put our best foot forward I think you see a team who will fight for each other we've talked a lot about family here I think that's I think that's starting to show where we definitely you only can only achieve so much when you play for yourself but when you play for the person next year I think you can achieve greater things so I just hope you see see a team that keeps fighting no matter what and hopefully comes out with a better season than last year. How do you use your brother as a resource because he just wrapped up like we were saying a great career at Kansas State culminates with that Big 12 championship now trying to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers how do you kind of utilize your big brother to help you out here? Yeah his story his story is cool as well he started as a as a walk on at Nebraska and he kind of fought his way up the depth chart became a captain there and then transferred to Kansas State and won a Big 12 championship and became a captain there so just showing like it doesn't matter where he starts about where you finish he he definitely started um not where he wanted to but he's definitely made the most of it and he's a cool resource to have he's different perspective because he plays receiver which is which is actually really cool and really helpful I can kind of lean on him for different things ask different questions I just called him before this and was asking him for some some of his receiver tape that I can learn from and help teach my guys around me so just a cool cool different perspective to have from him and excited for his future in the NFL and can't wait to see where he goes. It's so neat to be able to talk to you right now EJ Warner when you're just getting ready for your sophomore year whenever your football journey does end what do you hope to accomplish and what do you hope people say about EJ Warner? That's a good question I just think I mean I just want to know for myself the conflict that I gave it everything I had I mean so many people uh can only go so far in the sport and I mean I hope hopefully I achieved great things but at the end of the day I just want people to know that I gave my best foot forward and put in as much work as I can and yeah I just want people to know that that I tried my best and really really hopefully made myself better but also made the people around me better and hopefully elevated the team to do better than what they thought they could. That's probably my main goal. Yeah well love watching you play last year kick ass this year we're going to be rooting for you and really do appreciate the time today. Awesome thank you for having me go out.