Sean Warren ended up at a junior college after his career at Texas City High School because the major colleges thought he lacked the height to play with the big boys.
It was at Blinn Junior College where Warren took the necessary steps to build up his frame and slim down his waist and became a coveted player.
Photo by Jeff Abt |
Sean Warren (92) has been a big addition to the SFA defense.
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Warren, a 5-11, 285-pound Lumberjack nose guard, has become a big addition to SFA's defensive line, where he is a disruptive force by penetrating the offensive line, oftentimes fighting through double-team blocks.
Warren has compiled 21 tackles, including 21/2 sacks for SFA, which is 5-1 overall, and off to a 2-0 start in the Southland Conference race.
An offensive linemen most of his high school career, Warren played on the defensive line some his senior year before signing with Blinn Junior College. Weighing about 320 pounds his freshman season, he began a running and conditioning program that turned him into a quicker, lighter player.
"I did a lot of running, a lot of conditioning, so I could run sideline to sideline," he said. "I was quicker and being more disruptive.
"At first, I didn't have a mean streak at Blinn. I'm laid back. I started killing everyone in front of me."
SFA, other SLC schools and even BYU noticed. Warren visited SFA, Sam Houston and Nicholls and had brief talks with BYU, before he signed with the Lumberjacks, who needed a physical nose guard, a player who could anchor the middle of the line to free up the speed players, like defensive end Tim Knicky and others like defensive tackle Kenneth Charles and SFA's solid group of linebackers.
"He's a guy whose job is to disrupt and to have an attacking style," SFA coach J.C. Harper said. "He plays hard. Sean is not as tall as we'd like him to be, but he's powerful, very quick."
Warren has caught the attention of other SLC coaches. McNeese head coach Matt Viator and Central Arkansas coach Clint Conque spoke of Warren during recent conference calls with the media.
Warren's game isn't all about being aggressive. The tools of a defensive linemen include having quick feet, good hands and winning the leverage battle with offensive linemen.
"I really don't think I'm too small," he said. "I'm just playing with leverage. I get my hands on them before they get their hands on me. I'm as strong, or stronger, than they are."
With Warren and his teammates in the line winning battles each week, SFA defensive coordinator David Gibbs doesn't have to gamble as much as he did last season, when the Lumberjacks were soft up front. SFA has won games against McNeese and Central Arkansas by lining up in its base defense and forcing those teams to sustain long drives.
"We believe our 11 are better than their 11," Warren said. "We believe when we step onto the field, we can beat anyone in base."
A kinesiology major and psychology minor, Warren comes from a family that loves basketball, a game he played until the seventh grade, when he started to really grow.
While he may not have been the really big guy who defensive coordinators love to have, Warren has succeeded in becoming a successful smaller big guy at a school close enough to his hometown that his family can attend games.
"With my mom, academics were the biggest part of it," he said about attending SFA. "I like the town, in general. It's quiet, and it's a college town.
"Everyone is really supportive, especially when you're winning. I just want to play from week to week and do my job."
