Eric Brodkin
Executive Sports Editor
On January 8, South Bay native and cancer survivor, Davis Warren, earned his first national championship as a Michigan Wolverine. The Wolverines defeated the Washington Huskies in a 34-13 blowout.
Warren started his football career playing for a local flag football league called SBYS, now known as BCS. According to Warren, he started his football career as a center, two years younger than the other kids. When Warren was old enough to be on a team, he was most interested in playing quarterback.
“I started playing quarterback because I had the strongest arm on the team and from that point on I didn’t go a year without being the quarterback,” Warren said. “I played a lot of sports as a kid but I soon realized I was better than average at the quarterback position and if I worked hard enough I could put myself in a good situation to play in college.”
Warren attended Loyola High School and was named the 2018 Offensive Underclassman of the Year as a quarterback. Unfortunately, in March 2019, Warren was unexpectedly diagnosed with Leukemia and was told the process would take months. According to Warren, the news was totally out of the blue.
“It’s hard to put into words how shocking that was for me because I was just starting to get recruited by Ivy League schools,” Warren said. “One of the first questions I had after the doctor talked to me was how quickly could I get back on the field again.”
Luckily for him, the recovery went exactly as it was supposed to. According to Warren, treatments were on time and going smoothly and he didn’t run into a lot of hiccups. Warren was out of the hospital in months which is very rare, and was back playing in October.
“The first week I was diagnosed, I circled a game on October 4th which was when I wanted to get back to playing,” Warren said. “Looking back, it was naive of me to think that, because knowing what I know now about childhood cancer, I was very lucky to be able to make it out and still be able to pursue my dreams. The word perspective comes to mind because I am grateful to wake up every day and everything I do is something I will never take for granted again.”
Warren transferred to the Peddie School in New Jersey where he was able to play in the game on October 4th. In October of 2019, he was the New Jersey Gridiron Club Player of the Month. He also took his team to an undefeated 9-0 season and Mid-Atlantic Prep League Champions. After COVID-19 effected the last two years of Warren’s high school career, he was able to find his home as a walk-on at the University of Michigan.
“I didn’t play the key years of getting recruited so I was blessed to have the opportunity to go to Michigan,” Warren said. “With the combination of Big-Time football with coach Harbaugh and great academics, I knew it was an incredible spot to play football at.”
According to Warren, at the beginning of his career at Michigan, he always had a chip on his shoulder because he was a walk-on and nobody knew who he was. Warren was able to earn a scholarship and help contribute to Michigan’s great success in recent years and their first national championship win since 1997.
“Winning three straight Big 10 titles, beating Ohio State, and winning the national title is amazing and I am so grateful to be a part of it,” Warren said. “It’s a great group of guys and I am happy to contribute to the team’s success. We work our butts off and it is a lot of time but this experience is everything I could’ve ever hoped and dreamed for.”
Warren is partnered with LaFontaine U-Cancer-Vive, an organization primarily based in Michigan, and shows kids that they can still chase their goals. According to Warren, he loves the partnership and helps out the kids.
“It has been a great partnership being able to do whatever I can to help kids in need,” Warren said. “Being able to show the kids you can do the things you want to regardless of your cancer diagnosis is special and makes my battle seem worth it.”
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