The Football Brainiacs

Image from MaxPreps.com

As most of you know RB Michael Warren out of Lawton recently burst  on to the Oklahoma HS football scene. Michael is a very articulate and polite young man. But he’s also a darn good running back. Michael didn’t grow up in Oklahoma. In fact he didn’t even grow up on the mainland. He moved to Oklahoma from Hawaii.

Michael put up gaudy numbers in the run game this past season. And for folks that think that’s only because he runs behind one of the best OLinemen in the country (Jalin Barnett) think again. It doesn’t matter if he’s running right or left or who he’s following he gets yards! He’s got great vision and change of direction. He knows when to get up field and when to hesitate. He has a nice stride and runs upright. He reminds us of Alabama backs TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry. Like Yeldon, he’s a taller back as well, standing around 6’1.

We know a lot of folks still believe that Oklahoma is in the race for Joe Mixon but we’ve said repeatedly that we do not believe that to be the case. The question is how interested is Oklahoma in Michael Warren. The other question folks have had is whether Michael will qualify. We try to avoid going into a players academic issues but Michael is a smart kid and no one should think otherwise. And it sounds as though he didn’t go to the best school in Hawaii but since moving to Oklahoma he has worked diligently to rectify any academic problems he might have.

We will say this, Oklahoma does not place kids in JUCO. It’s just not something they like to do. When they think a young man cannot qualify academically they move on. We’ve come to find out that Cale Gundy has not moved on from Michael. In fact he is in touch with Michael on a weekly basis. So there is definitely interest on Oklahoma’s part and the continued contact between coach Gundy and Michael this late in the recruiting process leads us to believe that Oklahoma feels like there is definitely a good chance that Michael can qualify.

Michael didn’t grow up an Oklahoma fan. In fact it doesn’t seem he grew up a fan of any particular college football team. He’ll be taking a visit to Washington State and a few other schools in December/January. One thing that really stands out about the young man is he genuinely seems to appreciate every single one of his offers. He’s got top shelf talent but is also the kind of teammate and quality young man Oklahoma seems to be looking for these days. He’s the kind of kid who was buried on the depth chart because he was a move-in but he worked hard and prepared himself for an opportunity and when he got it he was able to make the most of it. And he doesn’t lack in confidence. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he knew he was good enough to do what others were surprised to see. He didn’t pout about. He rolled up his sleeves, went to work and was patient…and it paid off. Whatever happens we are pulling for this young man but it certainly seems Oklahoma likes him.

UPDATE: Please note the comment from Michael’s mother below (Ms. Barbara Warren). Sounds as though Michael is on the right track.