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After earning All-Southeast Kansas League honors at Independence High School, Ron Warner didn’t have to look far to continue his playing career as he chose to attend Independence Community College. It was just the start of a successful run for him as he went on to spend several seasons in the professional ranks. During Warner’s two seasons with the Pirates, he earned Second Team NJCAA All-America honors and was also a First Team All-Jayhawk Conference selection at defensive end. From ICC, he went on to sign at the University of Kansas, where he accumulated 20.5 sacks in his two seasons – the highest total in school history. As a junior, he was named Third Team All-Big 12 Conference. Then in 1997, he recorded a KU single-season record of 14.5 sacks and was ranked fourth nationally in that category. For those efforts, he was a consensus First Team All-Big 12 selection and First Team All-American by Football News. Warner was selected to play in the Senior Bowl and the Blue-Gray Classic all-star games after his senior campaign. He was eventually picked in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Warner played in 20 career NFL games from 1998-2004 with the Saints, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins. He saw action on special teams to earn a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers. He was also a veteran of the Canadian Football League as he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos.