Kurt Warner returns to UNI for NFL Network segment with Deiondre Hall

CEDAR FALLS — Kurt Warner couldn't remember.

He returned Tuesday to Cedar Falls and the University of Northern Iowa campus to film an upcoming segment for NFL Network — the one for which he works and is an analyst — that will feature Warner and upcoming NFL draftee Deiondre Hall touring campus.

Warner, easily the most famous and revered former UNI athlete, gave all the expected answers about how happy he was to be back.

But he just couldn't remember how long it's been since he was.

'I'll tell you what, it's been a long time,' Warner said Tuesday morning. 'I've stayed in contact with Coach (Mark) Farley over the years, and he's invited me back — I don't even know how many times. Unfortunately with my schedule in the fall, I've never been able to come back in the fall and connect. I couldn't even tell you how long.

'Unfortunately I haven't been back enough. … But it's always nice to have an excuse (to come back to Iowa). It was great to have a chance to talk to the guys today, and hopefully in the future get to do a little more of that.'

Whatever the reason, Warner being back on campus had everyone involved more than a little excited.

Warner may only have seen the field for one season under then-head coach Terry Allen, but his well-documented success since then has drawn UNI and the Panther football program into the discussion. It's that point alone that makes Warner's voice on NFL Network and among NFL minds that increases the exposure to players like Hall, and before him — most recently — David Johnson and Xavier Williams. Warner said being featured in a segment like this will give those paying attention a great chance at a glimpse into the person Hall is — a factor that Warner said has clearly become much greater in recent years as players with 'upside' crashed and burned because they weren't worth the off-field troubles.

The Super Bowl champion, two-time NFL MVP and all-pro knows his influence, and he continued a message of perception Tuesday at UNI that he started down in Oklahoma City when speaking to the UNI men's basketball team.

Changing the mindset one April 12, 2016

Changing the mindset one @NFL MVP at a time. #UNIFight set to be on @nflnetwork thanks in part to @kurt13warner.https://t.co/epzb7TL3fm

— #UNIFight (@UNIAthletics)

If his journey as a football vagabond-turned-star-turned-potential-Hall-of-Famer can give Hall more looks by influential NFL people, and at the same time help further prove FCS players' worth in pro football, Warner said he's willing to do whatever it takes. He added he's just one player who got the attention train rolling, but that 'the idea is to produce them year-in and year-out, and that's what you're seeing more and more.'

'What I realized in my path is that it's nice to be able to go in with somebody having an expectation for you,' Warner said. 'Sometimes you go in and nobody really knows who you are. They're giving you an opportunity, but nobody is putting that foot forward for you. That's what success as a program does. … That's where it sets these guys apart.

'(David Johnson playing well) is so powerful in setting up the next guy, for them to get every opportunity to success, whereas when I was there it was, 'OK, we're going to give him one glimpse, and if he doesn't prove himself on that one throw or one series … we're not going to spend any more time on him.' That's what it does, it allows these guys to get a better look than they'd have gotten maybe 10 years ago.'

For Hall, Tuesday was just one more surreal experience among a series of them in his journey from All-American and Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the Panthers, through the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine and onto the Draft at the end of the month.

Hall repeatedly expressed his attitude at the NFL Network experience, because he realized the forum he's been given to show people who he is.

'I'm blessed for this opportunity, and I'm thinking this is like the cherry on top,' Hall said. 'I'm getting towards the end of the process. I definitely think this will help me in a lot of ways, coming from a smaller school. Getting on the big stage like this is cool.

'Those guys having so much success in the NFL so early basically lays out that platform and is a way to more success. It puts us on the correct platform to be successful.'

Warner's contact with UNI Athletics has increased over the last few years — most especially at the last two NCAA Tournaments with the Panthers in Seattle and Oklahoma City.

But his mark was left in football, and he felt that nostalgic pull when he walked back into the UNI-Dome for the first time in at least a decade. Seeing the changes and how they've come to pass was what Warner said he loved most about his return.

He's big on perception. He's thoroughly enjoyed UNI being part of the sports lexicon recently. And even if he can't remember the last time he was back for sure, he's keenly aware of what coming back now means — for the present and future.

'Obviously the field looks pretty much the same, minus the turf being different, but the McLeod Center being attached, the new weight room; it's cool. It's all about progress, and I think the bottom line is the programs here have done a tremendous job changing those perceptions,' Warner said. 'With that has come the changes you've seen in facilities and everything else — players like (Hall). People want to get involved with the program and are excited about the program. It's at the best place it's ever been as far as the sports programs in general. It's fun to be a part of that and hear people talking about UNI all over the place. That's fun.

'It's fun that UNI is starting to get on the map. It's cool and it's a credit to the programs here, the coaches here; the players here and it's fun to see rewarded when you come back on campus.'

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