Kurt Warner’s son to get first career start as quarterback for Temple football, sources say

Temple will start real life freshman quarterback EJ Warner – son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner – against Rutgers on Saturday, sources told ESPN.

Warner received the nod for his first career start from first-year coach Stan Drayton after a strong performance in his first appearance against Lafayette on Saturday. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns after off-loading D’Wan Mathis in the second quarter.

Warner was not recruited heavily from high school, and selected Temple over offers from schools such as Colorado State, Hawaii, UConn, and Marshall. There will inevitably be parallels to his father’s history, as Kurt Warner played college football in Northern Iowa before famously dominating arena football and earning a shot in the NFL.

Warner is 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, and played high school football at Brophy Prep in Phoenix. He had a connection with Temple when the Owls’ offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf coached his brother, receiver Kade Warner, in Nebraska.

Mathis, a Georgia transfer, and former Virginia Tech and North Dakota State quarterback Quincy Patterson were considered front-runners for the starting job at camp.