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Warrick says difficult past is powerful motivation
EAST LANSING – When he wakes up in the morning sometimes Nehemiah Warrick feels like he is dreaming.
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The well-built Spartan strong safety affectionately called "Nemo" by his friends and teammates is not dreaming. He is living out his college football dream.
Warrick signed with Michigan State at mid-year, enrolled in January and is practicing with the Spartans this spring. He is listed as a second-string safety, but is loudly knocking on the door for a starting job.
From the first time he put on shoulder pads, Warrick believed that he had the ability to play Division 1-A football in a power conference. Michigan State gave Warrick the opportunity to showcase his talent in a BCS conference.
But Warrick earned his scholarship to Michigan State by walking a tough path filled with obstacles and adversity that very few college football fans can appreciate.
"I don't think the average person understands how difficult it is to go from the junior college to the Big Ten," said a highly-regarded JUCO coach from a Midwest powerhouse that wished to go unnamed. "The deck is stacked against these kids and a lot of them just can't handle the academics for whatever reason. I remember my first year here, I had 60 percent turnover. That is unbelievable, but it's typical.
"To get from junior college to the Big Ten is a serious accomplishment. First, the kid has to be a great athlete. But more importantly, he has to get it done in the classroom. People don't understand how hard it is for an athlete to transfer to a Division 1-A program. Nothing is given to these kids. They have to be self-motivated. They have to be driven."
THE DARKEST DAYS
Warrick's journey is typical of many athletes that pursue the JUCO route. A talented athlete with tremendous football talent, Warrick had a number of Division 1-A schools knocking on his door until they learned about his grade issues.
Even with poor academics, Warrick was offered a scholarship and signed with Murray State coming out of Bradenton (Fla.) Bayshore High School. But Murray State soon forgot about Warrick after he failed to achieve a qualifying score on his ACT test.
"They promised to get me into a good JUCO program," Warrick recalled. "I called them everyday. Eventually, they just blew me off and I was through with Murray State."
After graduating from high school, Warrick spent two uncomfortable months in a state of flux. He did a lot of praying and soul searching during the period he says were the darkest days of his life.
"I sat around thinking what am I doing," he recalled. "All of my friends were playing football in college or in high school and I was sitting around doing nothing. I was a football player all of my life. I was great at it, but I was sitting there doing nothing."
Warrick took a job at the 13th Avenue Community Center mentoring area young people as part of an after-school program.
"I'd take them out and play football and basketball with them or I'd take them on field trips," Warrick recalled. "Basically, I was just keeping my eye on them and making sure they were making the right decisions and doing the right thing and being in the places they needed to be."
Warrick also enrolled at nearby Manatee Community College. He took a couple of cupcake classes with the intent of transferring to another JUCO when the opportunity arose.
"That was the worst part of my life," said Warrick. "I was sitting up there with all the guys that didn't have much going for them in high school and I am right there with them. I was thinking, 'this isn't for me, man.'"
Warrick was humbled by his time at MCC. But as he patiently waited for a better opportunity, he dedicated himself to becoming the best conditioned athlete he possibly could be.
"I worked out twice-a-day," he recalled. "I ran hard every day and I was in the weight room every day. It was hard. I was used to working out with people and I was by myself a lot of the time."
During that time, Warrick held out hope that he would have an opportunity to pursue football at one of the many JUCO powerhouses in Mississippi. He never expected to get his break in the Midwest.
Bayshore coach Raymond Woodie pulled some strings and got Warrick an opportunity to earn a roster spot at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College as a walk-on.
That invitation opened the door for Warrick. But the journey from JUCO walk-on to JUCO All-American was a path blazed by Warrick alone.
THE TURNING POINT
In high school Warrick was a laid-back individual that kept to himself and sat in the back of the classroom with little to say.
"That was kind of my downfall," he said. "I never spoke up. I was never a leader. I just sat in the back and did my own thing. That way didn't get me too far."
Change was necessary for Warrick's football survival. When he arrived at Hutchison Warrick was determined to leave his shell behind and become a leader on the field and in the classroom.
But before Warrick could make those changes, there was the not so easy matter of making the Hutchinson football team.
"It is a tough stage," recalled Warrick. "There were only 12 out-of-staters that were going to make the team. I came in and I was like sixth string. A lot of good guys don't make it. It is not always the best guy that makes it. A lot of guys get shuffled off in JUCO."
Warrick earned a roster spot by making difficult plays in practice. He used past adversity to spur him on during try-outs. Failure was not an option.
"I just tightened down a little bit and made plays," Warrick said. "Since then everything else has been great for me."
Warrick also tightened down in the classroom. He wasn't about to make the same mistakes he did in high school.
"Academics were my No. 1 priority," said Warrick. "That is what kept me from going D-1 out of high school. The first thing I did when I got out there was I kept up with my grades. The football part just took care of itself. I had way better grades in JUCO than I had in high school. That was a pretty big accomplishment."
MOVING TO DEFENSE
Warrick had always played on the offense during high school. At Hutchinson, Warrick made the team as a wide receiver.
Warrick was a starting wide receiver in Hutchinson's bowl game in his first year with the Blue Dragons. But he also played a few minutes as a back-up cornerback late in the season. "I kind of messed around a little bit at corner and got an interception," he said.
The next season, Hutchinson coaches told Warrick that he would be best suited to playing defensive back. He resisted the position change at first.
"My opportunity was on defense," Warrick said. "At first I didn't want to make the transition because all I ever knew was receiver. But when I sat down and talked to my coaches, they told me that playing defense was the best opportunity for me. I am kind of glad that they did."
With his size and athletic ability, Warrick is perfectly suited to play strong safety. He is still a bit raw having only played the position for one year. But it is a position he has grown to love.
"(Strong safety) is my spot," Warrick said. "I just like running around and reading offenses and coming up and making plays."
ADJUSTING TO LIFE AT MICHIGAN STATE
Warrick is quickly adjusting to the life of a student athlete in the Big Ten. His transition has been made easier by the close-knit family atmosphere in East Lansing as well as prior friendships with Sir Darean Adams and Devin Thomas.
Adams, a year younger than Warrick, played on the same high school as his longtime friend. The two kept in touch before Warrick's decision to play football at Michigan State.
"Even when I was in JUCO I always talked to him," said Warrick of his relationship with Adams. "He always called me and told me to keep my head up and keep working hard. He called me after every game."
Thomas and Warrick are roommates at Michigan State. The two have quickly become close friends. They faced each other on the football field last fall in a game where Warrick admits that Thomas got the best of him.
The two talked after the game. When Warrick found out that Thomas and he were both being recruited by Arkansas and Michigan State, he began to call the former Canton (Mich.) all-stater regularly.
"We just developed a great relationship," said Warrick. "He is like my best friend. We are actually roommates right now. We just keep each other up. When he has a bad practice I keep him up and when I have a bad practice he keeps me up. He is one of my best friends."
Warrick also keeps in touch with his first cousin Peter Warrick, the former Florida State All-American and current NFL standout. The elder Warrick has had plenty of good advice for his cousin.
"Honestly, when I call him he roots me on tremendously," said Nehemiah Warrick. "He knows I can make it. It is so good for me because he has been through everything that I am trying to do. He accomplished his goals and everything.
"He just told me to take every day and go hard and not to take anything for granted. Every opportunity you get to step in the classroom and every opportunity you get to step on that field just pray about it and keep working hard."
The younger Warrick hopes to work out with his famous cousin this summer. "He will be able to help me out a little bit by him playing receiver against me and helping me out on coverages and stuff. He just told me to stay in there, hang in there, and everything is going to work out for the best."
With all that he has been through just to achieve his dream of playing Division 1-A football, the Spartan safety should have little trouble following his cousin's advice. Warrick says past adversity is a powerful motivation in his life on and off the football field.
"Every time I step on the field I am going to think of the hard times," Warrick said. "Every chance I get to make a play, I just want to make it. It is so easy to get off track. But I don't want to come here and take it for granted like a lot of people do. It is a great atmosphere here, but I want to make the best of it. I am not one of those guys that are just satisfied with saying that I am on the football team or I am just here to party. That is all part of college, but I just want to be the best football player that I can be. I am never satisfied. I am going to stay hungry. I am going to keep on working hard. Even if I do great, I am always willing to do more."