How Jaylen Warren Went from Unheralded Recruit to Starring for the Steelers

The last NFL player to record an 80-yard receiving touchdown and a 50-yard rushing touchdown in the same game was Herschel Walker, in 1986. The next one is the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week, and he showed up to The Rich Eisen Show straight off the practice field.

"Fresh off the practice field and came straight in here," Jaylen Warren said. Rich, not to be outdone, claimed he was wearing his pads too.

Warren's path to the Steelers backfield runs through towns most fans would need a map to find, and his answer for how he handles the big moment is as simple as it gets.

**Backyard football and high school highlights**

"Man, just playing ball. Not really much to it," Warren said. "When I'm out on the field, I just act like I'm playing backyard football. That's how I like to treat it. Don't want to make the moment too big."

His pregame routine backs that up. Warren warms up for about 30 minutes, heads back into the locker room fully dressed, and pulls up his high school highlights on his phone. Then he goes out and acts like he is just playing high school ball again, back in Salt Lake City.

**From Snow College to Utah State**

Coming out of high school, Warren had three offers by his count: William Penn, which he believes is a Division III program, Mount SAC, a junior college in California, and Snow College. Rich admitted he had to look up Snow College. It is in Ephraim, Utah.

"There was nothing in Ephraim," Warren said. "It was like an AutoZone, Little Caesars, McDonald's, and a small Walmart."

The football was a grind to match. Snow played in a conference with teams in Arizona, programs Warren believes no longer exist, which meant 16-hour bus rides with a stop every now and then. "Those were really the grinding days, for real," he said.

His first offer out of Snow came from Hawaii, then Utah State. Warren picked based on one simple fact: the year before he committed, Utah State beat Hawaii. "I wanted to win, so I went to Utah State," he said.

That put him in the huddle with Jordan Love, and Warren described the quarterback the NFL knows now. "He was what he is today. Great leader, very vocal, on point, very detailed," Warren said. "He was Jordan Love."

Things eventually got "less than ideal" for Warren at Utah State. He wanted a fresh start, entered the transfer portal, and Oklahoma State came knocking.

**Undrafted, and Tomlin's "get him out"**

Then came draft weekend, and no call. Warren went to the combine but didn't get many interviews, and he went in with a clear-eyed plan. "I just knew I needed a shot," he said. "Whatever team picks me up, I'm going to give that team my all."

The undrafted calls came in after the draft, and his agent felt Pittsburgh was the best fit.

Warren doesn't remember his first interaction with Mike Tomlin, but he does remember a moment from training camp. After a stretch of shining, he fumbled, and Tomlin's response was immediate. "I remember him saying, you know, get his ass out," Warren said. The next day he was back to balling, overcoming adversity, and Warren said Tomlin was soon telling him to get out "for a good reason."

From there he worked his way into the rotation and up the depth chart. Rich noted the last Steeler to win the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award before Warren was Ben Roethlisberger, in 2020.

**The uncle and the one-man tackle**

Asked whether everything in his journey shows up as a chip on every snap, Warren traced it back to high school, where his uncle coached him. In a playoff game, Warren got brought down by a single defender, and his uncle let him know.

"If I see that again, you're running hills after this game. Don't get tackled by one person," Warren recalled him saying. "Ever since that moment I was like, I will not get tackled by one person."

Rich wondered whether the uncle's voice was in his head on the 80-yard catch and run. Not to that extent, Warren said, but it is instilled in him. "That's where it comes from."

**Aaron Rodgers and the Super Bowl goal**

This week Aaron Rodgers made a point of saying nobody was talking about Jaylen Warren. Warren said that carries weight because of who it came from.

"It means a lot because I mean it's coming from Aaron Rodgers," he said. "He's seen a lot of ball in his life, played a lot of it. So I think those words hold more weight when it comes from a guy like that."

Then Rich asked the goal question, and Warren didn't hesitate. "Super Bowl."

Rich noticed what was missing. "You didn't mention a personal accolade," he said. Warren said every stat he has achieved so far belongs to his teammates for allowing it to happen and to the coaches for putting him in this position and trusting him.

He also said the relationship with Mike McCarthy and his offense has definitely grown. "The trust is there," Warren said, built by grinding every day and making sure they see eye to eye before game day.

**Reunion weekend**

This week also brings a reunion with Kenny Gainwell, Warren's former teammate. "That's still my brother," Warren said. "We talk often actually. Swap jerseys after the game." No matter the team or the journey, he said, they will always be cool.

It is a reunion on another front too. Warren's offensive coordinator from Snow College now coaches for the Bucs.

As for his circle, family comes first. He still hangs with four of his boys from high school and leans on mentors including Matt Asiata, a running back coach back in Utah, and his coach from Oklahoma State.

Rich left Warren with a promise. If the show is the only one talking about him, it is happy to be. But Warren is forcing the issue on everyone else.

"You're sitting in Snow College," Rich said after the interview. "Those were his opportunities and man, he made the most of it."