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Kurt Warner’s son, Elijah, shines in Temple debut at QB
Elijah Warner, the son of Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner, came off the bench for Temple on Saturday and led the Owls to victory in his debut. (Credit: Temple Athletics / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports)

Kurt Warner’s son, Elijah, shines in Temple debut at QB

PHILADELPHIA (BVM) – Kurt Warner is widely considered the greatest undrafted player in NFL history. The Burlington, Iowa native is the only undrafted player to be named both NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP, as well as the only undrafted quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Warner is also the first QB to win the Super Bowl during his first season as the primary starter and his illustrious playing career led to an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. 

The apple hasn’t fallen far from the Warner QB tree as Kurt’s son, Elijah, just made his collegiate debut over the weekend. 

Temple University (1-1) got its first win of the season on Saturday after defeating Lafayette (1-1) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, 30-14. The Owls’ victory marked the first win in the head coaching career of first-year HC Stan Drayton, but the real story of the game was the debut of a freshman quarterback. 

Elijah entered the game early in the second quarter of a tied game on Saturday for incumbent starter and Georgia transfer D’Wan Mathis. The true freshman stepped in and immediately found paydirt, connecting with redshirt freshman Ian Stewart from 15 yards out for the duo’s first collegiate touchdown. 

Temple clung to a 21-14 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter when Elijah helped put the game away. On second-and-16, Elijah dropped back and lofted a dime down the seam in the face of pressure to tight end Jordan Smith for a 17-yard score. The touchdown gave the Owls a lead they would not relinquish and sealed the first win of the Drayton-Warner era. 

It’s unclear whether Elijah will unseat Mathis as the permanent starter moving forward, but his early insertion into the lineup and impressive performance bodes well for his chances. Elijah was a three-star prospect coming out of Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona who committed to Temple in January over Connecticut, Ball State, Colorado State, Hawaii and others. After missing all but one quarter of action during his junior season due to injury, Elijah threw for 2,742 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior for Brophy Prep.   

While Elijah certainly hopes to reach the same football heights as his father, he found the field much earlier in college than his Hall of Fame dad. Kurt was third on the University of Northern Iowa’s depth chart until his senior year when he was finally given the chance to start and named the Gateway Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. 

Elijah is already making plays as a college freshman, and his father couldn’t be prouder.