Fresno State named veteran transfer E.J. Warner the team's starting quarterback Monday.
Warner, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, emerged from a three-man battle and will be Fresno State's Week 0 starter at Kansas on Aug. 23.
Warner started 31 games at Temple and Rice over the past three seasons, according to ESPN Research. He brings extensive experience and has thrown for 8,814 yards, 58 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
Kurt Warner congratulated his son on social media, posting to X, "So proud of this young man... just keeps proving who he is!"
So proud of this young man... just keeps proving who he is!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) August 11, 2025
1 scholarship out of HS... no P5 school would give him a chance then or since... has had to EARN starting spot everywhere he's been... and now heads into his senior season #1 in FBS in passing yards (8800+) & pass yrds/game... https://t.co/ypVicuf9Z1
E.J. Warner emerged from a quarterback battle with Sacramento State transfer Carson Conklin and sophomore Jayden Mandal. Warner's experience, consistency and leadership helped him capture the starting job, according to sources. Sources also indicated that a strong conviction has emerged in the quarterback room at Fresno, with a belief that the team can win games this season with all three quarterbacks.
Warner spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Temple before transferring to Rice for the 2024 season. Over those three seasons, he has completed 796 of 1,327 attempts. He led the AAC in passing yards per game in 2023, averaging 307.6. He set the Temple record with 23 passing touchdowns that season.
Three times he passed for more than 400 yards and twice threw five touchdown passes while at Temple.
At Rice last season, he threw for 17 touchdowns, and his 64.3% completion percentage ranks second in school history. He also led a game-winning drive in the final two minutes to beat UTSA, completing the winning touchdown pass with four seconds left.
Warner will debut for Fresno in the first game for new Bulldogs coach Matt Entz, a former USC assistant who won two FCS national titles as the head coach at North Dakota State.
