Warner remains true to himself as his NFL stock elevates

Kurt Warner says he won't change. He's a football player, a husband and a father. He's a man of great faith.

Sure, he's now the starting quarterback for the National Football League's St. Louis Rams, a player who was featured on ESPN Friday morning.

But he's still the same kid who starred at All Saints and Regis while growing up in Cedar Rapids.

He's still the same Kurt Warner who has given everything he's got when given a shot.

After an all-state high school career with the Royals, Warner sat and watched Jay Johnson direct Northern Iowa for three years - waiting for his shot.

Publication date: Sept. 5, 1999

When he finally got the staring job in 1993, as a fifth-year senior, he led the Panthers to a Gateway Football Conference title and a berth in the NCAA I-AA playoffs. He was named the top offensive player in the league.

After a failed tryout with the Green Bay Packers in '94, he hooked up with a new Arena Football League team in Iowa, the Des Moines-based Barnstormers. He led them to the Arena Bowl twice in three years, passing for 10,164 yards and 183 touchdowns - a whopping average of 61 a year.

Signed by the St. Louis Rams in 1997, he was shipped to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe for a little more seasoning. He responded by leading the league with 2,101 passing yards and 15 TDs.

He made the Rams' roster last year, but walked the sidelines most of the season, throwing 11 passes in the season finale.

Now he has the opportunity of a lifetime.

An injury ended Trent Green's season last weekend, opening the door for Warner.

He's not thrilled about how he got it, but he's not about to let this chance pass without another outstanding effort.

He got his first start in an exhibition game Thursday night in Pontiac, Mich., against the Detroit Lions. He directed the Rams to a 17-6 win, hitting 9 of 14 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

With Warner at the controls, St. Louis scored on all three of its first-half possessions. But he's still the same Kurt Warner.

"It's nice, but I'm just going to treat it as business as usual," he said Friday from his home in St. Louis, where he lives with his wife, Brenda, and three children.

His first start "went well," the 28-year-old Warner said. "Obviously, there are things I'd like to have back and done differently," he said. "When we needed a big play, needed to get something done, I made it.

"I just need to continue to learn."

It looks like he's going to continue to get that chance. Rams Coach Dick Vermeil took a chance on Warner when others wouldn't. He named Warner his No.2 quarterback before the season started. He proclaimed him his No.1 man when Green went down, without hesitation.

"I owe a lot to him for giving me the opportunity," Warner said. "I just want to prove him right."

Warner also is quick to "praise the Lord for the opportunities.

"There's a reason for me being where I'm at," he said.

His faith has helped him persevere when many others would have quit.

"I thought about (giving up) a few times when I'd get a tryout here or there," he said of giving up his dream.

"But I always believed there was a place the Lord wanted me. "I always felt that I had the skills and the personality to be here. All it was going to take was an opportunity."

His faith also helped him get through his first NFL start. He was pretty nervous Thursday morning, but a trip to the chapel calmed him down.

"Before the game was probably the most calm I've ever been," he said. "I felt confident.

"I'm feeling more and more comfortable inside the offense."

That's because he's comfortable being Kurt Warner.