The son of a Hall of Fame quarterback has landed a starting job at the college level.
EJ Warner, the son of Kurt Warner, has won the starting job at Fresno State, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. A transfer quarterback from Rice, Warner had to beat out Sacramento State transfer Carson Conklin and sophomore Jayden Mandal for the job.
Sources: Fresno State has named veteran transfer E.J. Warner the team’s starting quarterback, and he’ll debut for Fresno in Week 0 at Kansas on Aug. 23. He’s started 31 games at both Temple and Rice over the last three seasons. pic.twitter.com/GOfpi1ZfIx
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 11, 2025
Warner spent last season at Rice, where he threw for 2,710 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Prior to that, he spent two years at Temple.
Warner is entering his final season of eligibility. He left Rice due to concerns about changes in the offense there.
Fresno State is gearing up for its first season under new head coach Matt Entz, who previously served in the same role at North Dakota State. He was an assistant under Lincoln Riley at USC last season before being hired to replace Jeff Tedford, who stepped down for health reasons last summer.
The Bulldogs are fresh off a 6-7 season and a bowl game appearance. They will be hoping Warner and his pedigree can lead them to further improvement.
