There will be two Ed Warinners at Oklahoma's Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium on Saturday. One is Ohio State's offensive coordinator. The other is an Oklahoma linebacker recruit.
Saturday's Buckeyes-Sooners tilt will be a monumental game for both Warinner's football careers. For Dad, it could be a springboard to another College Football Playoff run -- this time with him calling the plays. For Son -- who goes by Edward -- it will likely be a well-timed boost for a rapidly-rising recruit.
"I won't be involved in the visit at all, but it's a big deal for Edward," Warinner the Coach told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "I've known Bob Stoops for 25 or 30 years. We're very good friends. The linebacker coach at Oklahoma worked with me at Army for seven years, he was my next door neighbor. And I know the recruiting coordinator. They are taking a serious look at him."
He said this will be the first of many Ohio State-turned-recruiting trips for Warinner the Player.
"They knew we were coming in for the game obviously to play, so that's just between my son and my wife when they go down there," Warinner the Coach said. "But the other Big Ten schools, we obviously play all the Big Ten schools who are going to recruit him, so he's going to be visiting those places, too. This is going to be fairly regular."
Warinner the Player is a three-star recruit according to 247Sports but, as a 2018 prospect, is just now beginning to put together a profile of offers. MAC schools have offered, and the Big Ten and Notre Dame are starting to sniff around. Oklahoma, too, obviously.
Though he wants Ohio State to win, Warinner the Player has a greater childhood allegiance to Oklahoma than his father's employer. He also knows better than most exactly how good you have to be to earn a Buckeyes offer.
"I lived the majority of my childhood in Kansas and when you live in Big 12 country, Oklahoma is the school," Edward said. "I always thought Oklahoma was the team. But it's different in this part of the country because now it's Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.
"So I'm open to everyone and I know the reality of Ohio State. Let's be honest. Ohio State is (really) good. If I am not good enough to play there, then I'm not going to play there. They aren't going to hand out a bullcrap scholarship just for me. They are just too valuable there."
Saturday will be a landmark day for the Warinner clan, marked by lots of hard work by Father and Son. And Warinner the Younger had better learn to cheer silently, because it probably won't be the last.
(HT cleveland.com)