Rising Cougars: Fred Warner

At 6'3" and 205 pounds, Mr. Fred Warner is an outside linebacker, and a quick one at that. He's quick, agile, and can get to the passer or drop into coverage. Fred is currently a senior at Mission Hills in San Marcos, CA. He committed to come to BYU back in April of this year.

A Popularity Contest

His commitment may have come too early as the offers started coming in from all over the west coast. Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, California, USC, Washington, Washington State, and even Utah cast their offers at his feet. The most enticing of those seems to be the offer from USC that came in June. According to Deseret News's BYU Cougar's Blog, Warner reported that "USC made a little bit of an impact," that he "still had some things to think about." And why wouldn't you? Warner plays football just a couple hours away from USC. The UC schools in general have a strong hold on the minds of their kids. And for crying out loud, have we mentioned that it's USC?

Warner came to BYU shortly after that offer for visit during Junior Day. Junior Day is a chance for the BYU prospects to come see the school, work out with the other recruits, and make connections with players (this time it was Preston and Spencer Hadley). Something happened that day that assured him he needed stick with his decision.

Why Warner chose to stay

According to byu.scout.com article, Warner said, "Being there at BYU really assured me why I made my decision to commit to BYU in the first place," It just confirmed to me why I made my decision. It really is a special place and it was just fun. I got that feeling that BYU is a special place. I got that spiritual feeling and just look forward to playing there."

From his later comments, he might have had a little help in his decision making process. His mother went to school at BYU for a time and, according to him, she loves coming back every chance she gets.

Fred Warner was born to bleed blue

"She really wants me to go there in the first place, and so when she came with me out there to Junior Day it just reassured her why she wanted me to go there. She just loves it there. It's pretty cool that I'll be able to go to the same college she went to." Cougars really do bleed blue. You can see it best when their children choose to follow in their footsteps.

And for anyone who's been on this campus and done the student thing, you have to agree. There is something special about BYU. There is something amazing about the campus. Sure we might sometimes get worked up about the honor code or complain loudly about how just seriously every bishopric takes the whole marriage thing, but in the depths of each of our hearts, we long to be a part of this campus forever. It's the same with every college campus.

Warner will make an excellent addition to the campus and to the football team. Pray for him not to change his mind. He may never be able to replace Van Noy, but he can definitely do his part to fill the hole he'll leave behind in our hearts.