By Mick McGrane, GoAztecs.com Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
As Kahale Warring remembers, the play was referred to as "49," basic prep football terminology that seemed second nature to just about every offensive player at Sonora High.
And then there was the new kid, the basketball/water polo/tennis/cross country/swimming cum football player whose understanding of "49" seemed only slightly less complex than quantum mechanics.
They gave him a cheat sheet taped to his wrist. They coached and coaxed, encouraged and emboldened, convinced that his size (6-6, 215) and obvious athleticism would seamlessly transfer to a football field.
Trouble was, he'd never played the game in his life. As a basketball player, he was named MVP of the CIF-San Joaquin Section Mother Lode League, averaging 19.6 points and 10.8 rebounds. He was playing for the Las Vegas Prospects in front of dozens of Division I coaches on the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) circuit.
He was also an all-league selection in water polo, but with many of his teammates and friends having graduated a year before him, others — those who donned football pads in the fall — were persistently pestering him to play.
Kahale Warring wasn't so sure.
"I never wanted to risk getting hurt before the basketball season started, so I played water polo," he said. "But as a senior, the only real friends I had left were on the football team. I thought to myself, 'It's my senior year; I'm never going to get the chance to try it again. It's America's sport. Why not give it a shot?'
"I was really just going to go out and play for fun with my buddies. But we ended up having a good season and went pretty far (in the playoffs). After the season was over, my coach told me he thought I could play college football. I was like, 'Yeah, right, get outta here. No way.' But he offered to make a highlight tape for me and send it out to see what kind of feedback I would get."
He got plenty. In his initial season of organized football, he caught 21 passes for 548 yards, an average of 26.1 yards per catch. But the interest Warring generated among college coaches was largely coming from the junior college ranks, as was the case among those interested in him as a basketball player. He originally considered attempting to play both football and basketball at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Suddenly, however, the interest among football coaches began outweighing those of their basketball brethren.
"I started becoming this really highly-recruited guy for junior college football," he said. "And I wanted to talk to every coach who contacted me, because I was always interested in hearing what they had to say about me as a football player."
One of those coaches was Doug Murray, the assistant head coach at Delta College in Stockton. Murray, who previously coached the Stockton Lightning of Arena Football League 2, and whose daughter, Naje Murray, plays for San Diego State's women's basketball team, was highly impressed with Warring.
"I told him I was probably going to Diablo, but he told me, 'You're too good to play junior college football; let me make some calls.' ''
Two of those calls were placed to Sacramento State and San Diego State. With only about a month remaining before players were expected to report for fall camp, Warring decided to walk on as a tight end at SDSU.
"I'd always wanted to go somewhere in Southern California, and if it wasn't UCLA, San Diego State was the next closest thing," said Warring, who also received interest from Nevada. "I told my parents I was going (to SDSU). I was super excited. I was going to play college football."
That he would do so after playing one year of high school football was, understandably, not without its trials.
"When I got here, I literally knew nothing about football," he said. "The coaches taught me A gap, B gap, C gap. Everything there is to know about football, the coaches here took the extra time to teach me at a time when I knew nothing. When I would mess up, I'd give them the worst headaches; I put them through the worst. They were like, 'Is this guy ever going to figure it out?' But I kept working and they kept putting in the time with me. I owe everything to them."
A week before last season's opener against UC Davis, that debt increased substantially. On Aug. 27, 2017, Warring and his roommate, cornerback Garrett Binkley, were officially stripped of their "walk-on" tags and awarded scholarships. Despite his football naïveté as a freshman the year before, Warring had shown ample promise. He played in the team's first four games before suffering a season-ending foot injury, contributing two receptions — both for touchdowns.
"I think (earning a scholarship) is the biggest accomplishment I've had in my life so far, just because you work so hard every day for that goal," he said. "Because I was a walk-on, it's made me a better player. I wouldn't go back and change a thing. You come in and see the guys that are on scholarship who were all big-time recruits, guys that had the experience of going through signing day, all of the dreams you have when you're in high school. It builds a chip on your shoulder and makes you want to work even harder to achieve that goal. Every day during the runs and the workouts, you strive to beat all of those scholarship players. It's all of those things that have made me the player I am today."
It's also the contributions of his mentors, former Aztec tight ends David Wells and Daniel Brunskill. Wells, who graduated last season, currently is in camp with the Dallas Cowboys. Brunskill is a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
"David Wells took me under his wing every single day," he said. "He's a phenomenal player. I also learned a lot from Daniel when I first got here. I've been so fortunate to have been able to play with those guys. I know I gave those guys a lot of headaches, too, just trying to learn as fast as I could.
"But they're such tough guys, and that's the mindset that our coaches try to impress upon us. Those guys never complained about anything, they did exactly what they were asked to do. Just the aspect of their work ethic, and what it takes to make it to (the NFL), I've seen it. If I can just take their work ethic and toughness and dedication, hopefully I can become just as good as they are."
Said head coach Rocky Long: "Kahale needs to get a little bit better at blocking, but his potential as a receiver is unbelievable."
As is the saga of a player who never had any intention of playing football. A player whose father, Lloyd, never a football fanatic, serves as the boys varsity basketball and soccer coach at Kahale's alma mater. A player who enters the 2018 season with the team's highest touchdown catch percentage over the last two years, with five of his 20 career receptions going for touchdowns. A player who, under the direction of Aztecs strength and conditioning coach Adam Hall, has added nearly 30 pounds since his arrival on campus three years ago and is now listed at 6-6, 250.
"I've just tried to work my butt off," he said. "I didn't grow up in a football family by any means.
But every day I'm starting to better understand defenses. Coach Deak (special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Doug Deakin) is always working with me during his free time. It's really been great, because I never played defense. It's helped me a lot in terms of understanding defenses and how to attack them. I'm trying to learn more about coverages and what to do in certain situations. That's been huge.
"I'm also trying to become a better blocker. I think I've improved, but I have a long way to go. That's the main thing that I'm working on during fall camp, trying to get ready for (the season opener against) Stanford. I want to really focus on it so I can prove to be people that I can be a blocker. If you're a tight end here and you can't block, you're not going to play. It doesn't matter how good of a receiver you are. You have to be able to do it all."
Football, basketball, water polo, tennis, cross country, swimming. Seems Kahale Kuio Kalani Michael Wodehouse Warring already has.
McGrane: Kahale Warring is Just Getting Warmed Up
