SOUTHERN-UTAH

SUU football: Demario Warren faces former teammate in Grand Canyon Rivalry

Ryan Miller
rmiller4@thespectrum.com

After being stuffed on a red zone possession, then-UC Davis running back Demario Warren remembers going to his quarterback, Tim Plough, and saying, “Tim, there were a lot of guys on that side, you probably should have checked it the other way.” Plough responded, “You know, I was thinking the same thing.”

“I think at that moment we both knew we would be better coaches than we were players,” Warren said.

If this year is any indication, they were correct.

The two former UC Davis teammates are now coordinating two of the nation's best units. Warren led Southern Utah’s defense to the top of  the Big Sky in nearly every defensive category. While Plough, in his first year as Northern Arizona’s offensive coordinator, has the Lumberjacks humming. Behind freshman sensation quarterback Case Cookus, NAU averages 39.1 points per contest and put up 49 or more in its last four games.

Now the close friends attempt to end each other’s season on Saturday when NAU travels to Cedar City in a game that is essentially a playoff play-in game.

“It will be a little weird for sure,” Plough said. “As good as they are this year, I am super proud of him and happy for him for all the success. If they aren’t the best defense in the country, they’re definitely up there, and he deserves a lot of credit for that. It’ll be weird seeing him over there.”

Said Warren, “I’ve been cheering for him all year to do good. It will be a challenge, and after the game we will be friends again, but it will be 60 minutes of fun.”

The two friends are on “radio blackout” this week leading up to the game, according to Plough, so Warren had to get his trash talking in early — way early.

Before the season at a coaches convention, Warren remembers telling Plough, “I know it’s going to sound crazy, but we've got a chance to win it all.”

Doesn’t sound too arrogant, but Plough remembers things a bit differently.

“He was being really cocky about it, like, ‘You watch, I've got the best defense in the conference,’ and God bless him he was right,” Plough said. “He’s been talking trash to me even before the season started about how he can’t wait to get to that game because he’s going to kick my butt, that kind of a thing.”

Warren doesn’t doubt the trash talk is going on both ways, even if it’s not directly at him.

“He tries to play humble, but I know how he is,” Warren said with a smile. “So I’m sure he’s been talking trash all week.”

While the two shared the backfield at Davis, what really brought them together was not being able to play. Both had their college careers hindered by injuries, surgeries and rehab, but that created a strong bond.

“We kind of stuck together because of that," Plough said. "He was always a guy I looked up to. Because at that point he already had his first son and was really like an adult. He was kind of like the big brother or even the father figure for a lot of the guys because he was really mature and really cared about his teammates and really cared about the game.”

Plough is still getting fatherly advice from Warren, but this time in a more literal sense. While most of their conversations revolve around football, with Plough’s wife just weeks away from having the couple’s first child, some of the talks have shifted to parenting.

“I’ve been talking to him more this year because he’s got a couple kids, so just checking in with him on those things,” Plough said.

And, naturally, the idea of one day teaming up on the same coaching staff has come up. With Warren leading a great defense and Plough leading a great offense, it seems like the perfect fit.

“We have always talked about it," Warren said, “but we don’t know when or how that would happen. I know he loves (Southern Utah head coach) Lamb and he always talks about that. ... I don’t know if that’ll ever happen. I love coaching with coach Lamb and we have a great offensive coordinator here so don’t think it will happen here and I’m not trying to leave anywhere.”

Said Plough, “I think that’s the dream for us eventually. We always joke around about who is going to be the head coach first. I think that’s the goal at some point, obviously, when you are that close and on either side of the ball. At some point, I would be shocked if him and I aren’t on the same staff somewhere, trying to figure out a way to do it together instead to trying to beat each other.”

But for this week, that’s exactly what they will try to do. And Warren likes to point out that Plough is used to losing.

“He’s a Clippers fan and a Padres fans so I always give him hell for that,” Warren said. “He claims he is the best sports fan out there, but he’s got some pretty bad teams. He’s got the Chargers, Clippers and Padres so I don’t know the last time he’s seen a championship.”

If Warren has his way, his old friend won’t be seeing one come Saturday, either.

Follow Ryan Miller on Twitter, @millerjryan.