By Dayton Brown
Wingate Triangle contributing writer
Laron Warner entered his final year of college football at Wingate, his fourth university in six years, looking for an opportunity to win a first conference championship and finally make a trip to the NCAA postseason.
Warner graduated early from Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Ky., with hopes of getting a head start in college football and starting as a true freshman on the team he committed to. At the time, the 5-8, 172-pound Warner played running back instead of his current receiver/returner role at Wingate. At Division 1 Eastern Kentucky of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the first school he attended, the coaching staff wanted to redshirt him as a freshman, telling Warner he needed to put on more weight and gain more experience before he played. Near the end of that fall semester, Warner withdrew from classes and transferred to Division 2 Kentucky State, where he also found that immediate playing time wasn’t in the cards.
After that second setback, Warner decided to take a break from school entirely, spending the next year and a half working as a landscaper back in Lexington. The job kept him in shape but he also continued to work out and stay ready for another opportunity in college football. That’s when Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Craig Yeast, a former NFL receiver/returner and All-SEC player at the University of Kentucky, recruited Warner to play for him at the Division 2 school in nearby Owensboro. Warner flourished at KWU under Yeast, starting 19 games during the 2021-22 seasons, but the Panthers won only five of 22 games during that time.
However, near the end of his second season in Owensboro, Warner sustained a back injury that led to him being carted off the field, and it ended his season. The injury occurred on a catch where two safeties sandwiched him on a tackle; his neck went one way and his body went the other, leading to nerve damage in his spine.
After recovering and rehabbing from that dangerous injury, Warner realized the mentality and culture of the team was not for him. Therefore, for the third time in his career, he entered the transfer portal.
Warner toured many more Division 2 schools just like he did the previous two times he transferred. He then made the trip to Wingate and, almost at first sight, knew it was the place he could finally call home. Warner found many like-minded people on the team and instantly gravitated to his teammates and the coaching staff.
The Bulldogs’ wide receivers coach, former University of North Carolina wideout Austin Proehl, served as a mentor and helped Warner adjust to football at Wingate. Warner recalls that Proehl helped him grow, making him a better person and helping with his overall mentality and mindset about the game. Warner loved how uplifting Proehl was in team position meetings and how positive he was about all players succeeding. Proehl explained to Warner that the wide receiver room at Wingate was a family and that only positive vibes were allowed. “No hating in the room is our main saying,” Proehl said.
There were many teammates that Warner had a connection with when he first got to campus. The first player who showed him the ins and outs of everything was fellow Wingate receiver Carlos Estronza, the Bulldogs’ second-leading pass-catcher so far this season. Another teammate who helped guide Warner was fifth-year defensive back Dequan Mosley. “He is one of the best, most personable guys you will meet,” Kaikai said.
Warner plans to graduate in May with a Communication degree from Wingate. When he does, he’ll be the first in his family to get a college degree. With four games to go in the regular season, however, his focus is on reaching the football dreams that dominated his childhood as a boy growing up in Kentucky.
“I started out watching many of my idols when I was younger,” Warner said. “Devin Hester was a guy I instantly wanted to model my game after and mimic. Chad Ochocinco as well because the first time I saw him at a [Cincinnati] Bengals game, I instantly fell in love with him because of that orange mohawk.”
As the Bulldogs’ starting punt returner and a backup slot receiver, Warner is enjoying every moment of being part of a one-loss team that is on track play for that coveted conference title ring he’s been dreaming of.
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