'He never quits': How Jaylen Warren became a crucial piece of the Oklahoma State's offense
Scott Wright
Oklahoman
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Oklahoma State running back Jaylen Warren trotted around the field at Saguaro High School, wearing the No. 0 jersey of teammate LD Brown.
Players had swapped jerseys for Thursday’s practice, one of the final workouts of the season as the ninth-ranked Cowboys prepare for the Fiesta Bowl matchup with No. 5 Notre Dame at noon Saturday at State Farm Stadium.
The tighter-than-usual jersey seemed to be the only thing hampering Warren, who says he’s fully healthy for the Fiesta Bowl — a critically important factor for the Oklahoma State offense, which struggled to run the ball without Warren in the Big 12 championship game.
But without the 5-foot-8, 215-pound Warren, the team was missing more than his rushing ability. His toughness, his work ethic, his hard running — all the things that encapsulate Warren — bring a certain spark to the team, an energy that his never-stop-working attitude presents.
“He was our go-to guy all year long,” OSU offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn said. “The kid is a great player and he's a spark plug for our offense. And the kids love him and they rally around him. It's a difference-maker for us.”
A fifth-year senior, Warren has rushed for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns on 237 carries. And all that came with only 10 games as the primary running back.
The Cowboys were using a committee of running backs through the first two games, and Warren missed the Big 12 title game with an ankle injury. In between, he was a force. But it wasn’t only what he did on Saturdays that endeared him to his teammates.
“Sunday workouts for us, after the fourth or fifth game, became optional, lifting and running,” offensive lineman Josh Sills said. “I don't think he missed one there towards the end until he got beat up. I think a lot of guys really took attention to that. Just his willingness. He never quits.”
Warren was showing up to those workouts on days after he’d had 30-plus carries, but he never saw that as a reason to take a day off.
“I didn't really earn anything to take off of the workout, so I go,” he said.
Warren came in last January as a transfer from Utah State. At the time of his signing, it appeared Brown — who had just finished his fifth-year senior season — was leaving, but he later reversed course and stayed for a sixth year granted by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“Before I got here, it was obviously long talks with my family deciding on if I wanted to come here,” Warren said. “It was between this school and a couple of other schools. But the running back situation here, which I knew LD was leaving. I was like this probably might be the best fit for me.
“So when I came, LD stayed and it made me — it didn't really make me discouraged, but I was like, OK , that's fine. It is what it is. I just put my head down and worked. So I'm grateful for how things played out.”
When Warren first arrived, he was quiet — and he still is. It’s his nature. But his actions on the field and in workouts soon began to catch the eyes of his teammates.
“He holds himself to a higher standard which, in turn, people around him have held themselves to a higher standard — or held themselves to an equivalent standard that he's held himself to,” Sills said. “I think it's really helped all of us grow, and it's just brought a new mindset into the team on the offensive side.”
Sills and receiver Tay Martin, who both transferred to OSU as well, understand the challenges of coming into a program later in your career, and they’ve been impressed with how Warren handled the transition.
“He made a great transfer coming in, because you can imagine coming in, in a short period of time, trying to get the plays and get along with everybody, get to know a few guys,” Martin said. “He definitely did a great job coming in and just keeping his head down and working. Overall, doing what he had to do, not being a distraction, not trying to do too much.
“Just being himself and just trying to play as hard as he can. So having a guy like that, it's beneficial for the whole team and it showed this year. So I was very grateful to play with him.”
Warren credits his family and his upbringing for his work ethic, understanding that he has a small window in which he gets to play football, and it could close at any time.
“Everything I do kind of revolves around them,” Warren said of his family. “Growing up, I've always wanted — especially my parents being divorced — I want to make them happy in a way. So I guess I just try to do my part in what can make them happy. Football don't make them happy. Me being happy makes them happy, and they know I love football. For us to see success with football, it brings joy.”
And Warren’s father often reminds him to appreciate what he has accomplished in his final season of college football.
“I guess sometimes people see my success bigger, especially this season, bigger than how I see it,” Warren said. “So when people bring that up to me, I'm like, yeah, it's actually pretty cool, me coming in and doing that. Nobody really expected that.
“It's a pretty cool thing to think about.”
