KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, September 21, 2006 7:00 pm
Finally, the back pain was too much for Eric Warfield.
He had accomplished much while hiding his soreness. He also was up to a handful of Advils a day.
“I couldn’t feel honest with myself and keep trying to keep my pain from the coaches,” the former Husker defensive back said. “I retired. I’ve got some things to do and I think I can heal up.
“As for now football is over.”
Eight years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Three seasons with two national championship Nebraska teams and a short stint with the New England Patriots this summer.
“It’s enough,” said Warfield, who is living in Lincoln. “I’ve made enough money there is no pressure. I’m going to be talking with some people at Nebraska about finishing up my degree.”
The “EDub44” Web site still takes comments from fans. It still tells about Warfield, his life, football and his challenges. But his stats will probably never change again.
Warfield finished his Nebraska career with two national championship rings, 35 games played, 107 tackles, nine passes broken up and five interceptions. The Texarkana, Ark., native was a seventh-round draft pick by the Chiefs in the 1998 draft, joining NU teammates Grant Wistrom, Jason Peter, Aaron Taylor, Scott Frost, Eric Anderson and Jesse Kosch in the pros.
He was a standard at cornerback on the woeful Chiefs defense. He started for four years and was one of the most underappreciated players in the NFL. After making plenty of money, earning up to more than $1 million a year, he joined with the Love for Fun charity, brought foster kids to practices, games and the locker room weekly for years. He also worked with the Sunflower House, a center for abused children.
He bought his mother, Rosie, a house to shelter children she tries to rescue from trouble in Texarkana. He purchased a school for the Faith Love and Hope Youth Corporation in Texarkana to help his mother work with disadvantaged kids.
“When I see the kids and how that works out, I feel better than when we won the national championships at Nebraska,” Warfield said.
The charity work, especially talking with foster kids, is the reason his well-publicized DUI arrests changed Warfield. He gained new perspective on life, the parties, drinking and the battles to deal with fame and the hard fall after his arrests.
“When I talk to kids and open it up for questions, I’d always have at least one kid ask why I was drinking and driving when I knew it was wrong,” Warfield said.
His mother talked about helping her son through rehabilitation. She told a Boston Herald writer that it was hard to get her son past the denial of his alcohol problems. She also identified the “negative people” who were around Eric that helped him fall into drinking.
Warfield spent a month in rehab. He attended Alcohol Anonymous meetings and counseling. He served his house arrest. He spent four Sundays last fall on NFL suspension.
“The people who know me still support me and that makes a difference,” Warfield said. “I still get phone calls and e-mails from the Chiefs players and front-office people. I still talk about it even though it’s all over and I’ve been through it and faced it all.
“I redefined my character and I’ve tried to move on,” he said.
Warfield was released by the Chiefs last spring. He signed a two-year contract with New England in April. He went through preseason games and played well. But the pain was too much to continue.
Warfield had back surgery three years ago. He could still play and still start for the Chiefs, but standing, the constant pounding and even sitting added up. “Last year was really hard but I played well,” he said. “It’s just that getting up in the morning after a game was harder and harder and harder.
“I felt like I was letting the coaches down and I felt like I was letting myself down, so I retired.”
Warfield still keeps close ties with many of his former Husker teammates. He hopes to visit with this year’s team and Bill Callahan and learn more about the new facilities at Nebraska.
“When I went to Nebraska … I thought they had the best coaches, the best program and the best facilities then. Now, it’s amazing what they’ve gotten for the players.
“I’d almost like to start over again.”
Warfield said on his first visit back to the campus he was asked by more than one person if he was a recruit.
“I’m old (30) and beat up physically,” he said. “But you know, my days at Nebraska were the best in my life. I will never forget those friends and those teammates. It was a special time.
“The thing I miss right now is the locker room and even some of the hits, even the big collisions, because you get kind of used to that. I’m not trying to live that over. I’m going to get a degree, maybe go into real estate and keep dealing with kids as best I can.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or at khambleton@journalstar.com.