Past Failures Motivate Notre Dame OL Target Warren Ericson
North Carolina defensive end Tomon Fox may not be aware of it, but Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett offensive lineman Warren Ericson contributes his success to him.
Fox, a rising sophomore at North Carolina, was a four-star out of high school, and Ericson was just one of many offensive linemen the now Tar Heel tormented in prep ball.
Ericson has vivid memories of lining up against Fox.
"It was my sophomore year, my first major start, and my first time playing tackle,” Ericson said. "I gave up a few sacks to him. I’ve got bad memories from that, and it’s not something I want to do again.”
Ericson said that as soon as that game was over, he decided he would never allow anything similar to happen again.
“I just got run over a bunch of times and I never want to experience that again,” Ericson said. “It was humiliating.”
He’s rarely, if ever, been run over since. In fact, Ericson is the one who does most of the running over.
The Georgia talent said his goal on every snap is to put his opponent on the ground.
“I definitely see myself as a powerful player,” Ericson said. “I just want put anyone who comes across my face in the dirt. Colleges see that and that’s what they want, so I think that’s what I bring to the table.”
Ericson is right. Colleges do like him. The three-star currently holds 20 offers, including Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU, Miami (Fla.) South Carolina, Tennessee and several others.
Getting those offers wasn’t easy for Ericson, and now that he has them, he said things can get even more complicated.
“It can be hard to keep your mind right,” Ericson said. “But I’ve got other players here and coaches here that will keep me in check, especially coach Stewart. If we were doing sprints and he saw me slacking off, that’s not going to fly.”
So, those around Ericson expect a lot from him, but not nearly as much as he expects from himself.
"I set a really high standard for myself this past year,” Ericson said. “I set myself a goal last year to be the best and make it to an All-American game.”
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