Edward Warinner, the No. 50 linebacker in the 2018 class according to the 247Sports composite rankings, will be in an awkward spot Saturday night — sitting in the Oklahoma section during a recruiting visit to Norman while his father tries to coach Ohio State to a win over the Sooners.
Ed Warinner, Edward’s father, is the Buckeyes offensive coordinator.
"The hardest part of this (is) going to be sitting in the (Oklahoma) section, and if Ohio State does something really well, it's going to be hard for me to keep my cool,” Edward told Cleveland.com. "I think it would be kind of Bush League if there's that one kid in the section screaming. ... But I want Ohio State to win."
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Saturday’s huge interconference game won’t be the last time the Warinners are in this situation. Edward plans to be on a visit to Michigan State when the Spartans host the Buckeyes on Nov. 19.
He also has offers from Army, Colorado State, Rutgers, and several Mid-American Conference programs, while some Big Ten schools and Notre Dame are also expressing interest, according to cleveland.com.
“We obviously play all the Big Ten schools who are going to recruit him, so he's going to be visiting those places, too,” said Ed. “This is going to be fairly regular."
What about joining his dad at Ohio State?
Edward grew up in Kansas, also lived in South Bend when his father coached at Notre Dame, and moved to Columbus in 2012 when Urban Meyer hired his dad.
"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 bull crap scholarship just for me. They are just too valuable there."
If his son does end up at Oklahoma, Edward would be fine with the choice.
“I've known Bob Stoops for 25 or 30 years. We're very good friends,” Edward said. “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.”