Deshawn Warner sat at a table with his mother and four hats in front of him as he prepared to announce his college commitment.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end from Desert Edge High School, was going to put one of those hats on his head to signal the school he chose. The choices were Kansas, Texas, Washington, and Oregon State.
Those were the four schools he took an official visit to.
Warner looked over the hats and grabbed the red one with a Jayhawk. He put it on briefly, took it off, and then put it back on. He said he wanted to scare everyone and add suspense to his press conference. The second he put the Kansas hat back on he was rushed by his teammates including Jonathan Kamara and Aundre Gibson.
[WATCH: Deshawn Warner picks KU, gets swarmed by his teammates]
Kamara and Gibson (his cousin) are committed to Kansas. The two did not know his college choice until Saturday afternoon.
Warner said Kamara and Gibson were worried on Friday night when a recruiting analyst predicted he would go to Washington.
“Actually, the only people that I knew were my two head coaches, my defensive coach, Coach Leipold, Coach Peterson, and Coach O (Onatolu),” Warner said. “And my mom. I kept it secret pretty much for everybody.”
Before Warner went on his visit last weekend to Kansas, he said the Jayhawks were the leader. After comparing the four visits he knew he was going to pick Kansas.
“I already had the idea that I was going to end up there,” he said. “But then after seeing all these visits, I noticed it was KU by a mile. I saw the visits and then I really got to think about it. I really got to appreciate how much the coaches do for me at KU, how much they love me, how important I am to them. So as soon as I landed, I felt that, and I got to really feel firsthand on what it's like to be a part of the Jayhawk family.”
Give Warner and the people around him credit. He wanted to keep his college intentions quiet until he put the hat of his college choice on his head. And he succeeded. The little-known secret is the fact he committed to the Kansas coaches during his official visit and the news never leaked.
He said the coaching staff was happy when he committed.
“They were excited,” he said. “Coach Leipold asked me when do I plan on committing to a school? He was asking me, ‘Is that during the season?’ And I let him know ‘I'm committed, Coach.’ They started jumping on me and they got to show that they were truly happy.”
Warner has been hearing about Kansas from Gibson and Kamara after they committed. He got a chance to see first-hand after listening to their stories.
[ANALYSIS: Warner on film, one best edge rushers to commit to KU in last 15 years]
“Things that stood out the most was probably how much love you feel in the town, how close the players get along, and the family environment,” Warner said. “Everybody truly every day wants to get better, no matter whether that's being a person, no matter that's on the football field, and everybody's truly bought in.”
His commitment to KU gives the Jayhawks a clean sweep at Desert Edge. He is happy to join his teammates on the commitment list.
“It's everything,” he said. “I feel like as recruits and as athletes, one of the things that we look for in the school is the family environment. And what more of a family environment do you have than playing with the guys that you played with for four years and Aundre is literally my cousin. That literally breaks the meter on the family part.”
A year ago, Arizona was new territory for KU when Jordan Peterson landed in Phoenix to start recruiting the state. Kansas now has four players committed from Arizona in his first year.
“I've noticed that he's a genuine person,” Warner said of Peterson. “He genuinely cares. He's always going to be honest with you. He always is going to tell you what you need to work on and what you did great. And I can tell he already minded his relationships, but off of honesty, love, and trust, man, I can trust that guy with my life.”
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