Colts 2023 Draft Interviews: Kade Warner, WR, Kansas State
Kade Warner is a former walk-on recruit that began his career playing at Nebraska. Warner had a long road to starting at the college level, as he redshirted during his first season at Nebraska back in 2017.
He began to slowly earn trust and playing time over the years and he was even named a team captain in his final year with the program back in 2020. Ultimately, however, Warner decided to transfer to Kansas State for the final two seasons of his collegiate career.
I asked Warner about the process of transferring and how he was able to adjust to a completely new environment in 2021:
The decision to leave Nebraska was tough. I was clinging on to the atmosphere and the fans that I love, so leaving that was one of the toughest things that I had to do. I was struggling with it for a long time, but it got to a point where the journey I was on didn't end at the destination I wanted it to be at. I made the decision to enter the transfer portal and it really hurt me.
I was a captain and helped build a culture there and I felt like I wasn't a good enough captain to those guys in the end. It is something that I look back on a lot. The portal was scary for me because I was a walk-on guy that only really had some practice film to show what I could do.
Kansas State ultimately reached out and it felt like the perfect fit. It was just three hours away from Lincoln (Nebraska) so I was able to be close to my girl and my friends. That offense felt like a perfect fit to me, so everything felt great and perfect. I transferred there and it ended up being a great decision for me.
After transferring to Kansas State, Warner started to see the field more and as a result, the production increased. He was able to have his best career season in 2022, totaling 46 receptions for 456 yards and five touchdowns on the season.
Warner was able to become a captain at Kansas State for his final year of college football. I asked him how he was able to gain that status despite only being at the program for two seasons:
I think it just takes time, man. Leadership isn't something that you take hold of, it is something that you are given by the players around you. I was more of a quiet leader when I first got there and was just trying to find my role. I wasn't trying to step on the toes of Noah Johnson or Skyler Thompson during my first year.
During the winter workouts and spring practices, I was able to be voted by the great guys at Kansas State and I was just blessed to be a captain of such a great team. There are so many other guys on that roster that could have done what I did, but I'm just so happy to be a part of that team.
Kurt Warner's Son
Kade Warner is the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. While this interview was all about Kade and his path to the NFL, we did talk briefly about the impact his dad has had on his football career.
Kurt had an unusual path to the NFL, so I asked Kade how his dad has helped him (so far) through this NFL Draft process:
It has been a tough process. It has been fun, but some parts are tough. I keep seeing other guys get accolades and recognition that I'm not getting, and I'm a jealous dude (laughs). It makes you work harder, and I can really lean on my dad for that. The stuff that he had to go through to get where needed to be, that is something that I lean on.
Both of us were doubted throughout our careers, so it is just a matter of overcoming it.
There are obviously some perks to being Kurt Warner's son in the football world. He is a Super Bowl Champion and a Hall of Fame quarterback, so his name carries weight around the world of football.
I asked Kade how he managed to lean on the advice of his dad while also keeping that distance to establish his own career/path:
I try to keep the in-house stuff in house. I was training with a bunch of dudes here in EXOS for the last three months and most of them had no clue that Kurt Warner was my dad until the end of it. I try to keep all of that in-house and lean on him as a father rather than lean on him as a football player.
I try to ask for help in his journey and everything, but I don't go around strutting who my family is and where I came from. I want to be able to do everything through me and what I've been able to do. Obviously, I wouldn't be where I am without him or my mom. I lean on them privately, but publicly, I'm Kade Warner and I don't want to tell everybody who my famous father is.
Slot vs Outside Receiver
Kade Warner was a versatile pass catcher in college. He played primarily in the slot during the 2021 season with Kansas State but then switched back to more of an outside role with the team for his final season.
I asked him what the biggest difference is between playing in the slot and playing on the outside:
I think it is a huge difference because there is so much more space inside. On the outside, there is much more of a vertical presence and it is so much more technique based at the top of the routes. You have to be able to change accelerations and go from 100 miles per hour to 0 to back to 100 in an instant.
The slot is much more like dancing. You have to find the voids and find the areas where you need to be. You have to be able to see the defense and diagnose it in order to find where the open holes are. I'm a slot receiver and I think that I've always been a slot receiver.
I feel comfortable in both, but I think that the slot is my home. The ability to break down defenses and know where the creases are just fits my game so well.
Special Teams Ability
When it comes to making it in the NFL, a vast majority of players have to excel at special teams. Warner will likely be no exception to that and he will have to earn his way as a starter through special teams early on.
I asked him about his preparation to play special teams in the NFL and if he has noticed the importance of special teams for players that stick in the league:
I think playing special teams ultimately comes down to common sense and effort. I'm not trying to discount the technique, but the base level of it all is knowing where you need to be and having the common sense to go attack the ball. These are things that just come natural to me.
I'm always going to give 100% and I'm always going to know what we are trying to do on special teams. I think playing on teams will come easy to me at the next level and I'm ready to play them as long as they need me to.
Two guys out of Nebraska with me are Stanley Morgan and Luke Gifford. They were both tremendous college players but are both signing contracts to play special teams in the NFL (and doing a great job at it). I can just see the importance of being that special teamer in the NFL in those two great guys and what they are doing.
Impact in the NFL
I ended this interview the same way I end all of them. I asked Warner about what type of player and person an NFL team is getting if they spend a draft pick on him in this class:
I think a lot of people will tell you that they will get the effort and the know-how and things like that. Those things will come natural to me. I think that I separate myself with my technique. I'm not a 4.4 guy that is going to jump 40 inches, but I know how to break people down and know how to get out of a break. I know how to set people up so I can get open.
I also have the ability to break down a defense. I am confident in saying that I am the smartest receiver in this draft class. I think if you talk to me for 15 minutes on the board, anybody would agree. Obviously that comes with who my dad is and who my little brother is, but I'm confident saying that because I've been learning football since I was young. I love to talk ball with anybody who wants to listen.
Those are two things you will get from me; my technique and my knowledge of the game of football.
Kade Warner isn't a flashy name in this draft class, but he is a smart wide receiver prospect that is willing to do the dirty work to make it in the NFL. His path in the NFL will be an uphill battle, but he already has the right mindset and work ethic to find success.
I, personally, wouldn't bet against him making it in the NFL.
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