Playing at Texas A&M was always a given for defensive lineman Ty Warren. He was born in nearby Bryan in 1981 and grew up with Aggieland basically in his backyard. When it came time to choose a school, Warren jumped at the chance to skip over to College Station to put on the maroon and white.

Warren, however, wasn't the highest-ranked defender to ever join the Wrecking Crew. Everyone knew he was good, but what he was able to do while in College Station blew everyone away. That is why Warren is the No. 2 player in the Top 12 Aggies since the inception of the Big 12 conference.

Warren entered A&M as a freshman in 1999 where he immediately saw playing time despite joining a veteran line with players such as Rocky Bernard, Ronald Flemons, Lonnie Madison, Ron Edwards and Evan Perroni. That season, however, Warren was still able to play in nine games with 13 tackles as a true freshman.

Over the next three seasons, Warren became a staple of the Wrecking Crew defense. He played all three positions along the defensive line – nose tackle, weakside defensive end and strongside defensive end – and was a leader on and off the field for the Aggies.

In 2000, Warren made his first start of his career at defensive end in the fourth game against Texas Tech. With four tackles, three for a loss and one sack, Warren didn't leave the starting lineup again for the rest of his career when healthy. He missed one game in 2001 and two games in 2002 due to injury.

As a sophomore, Warren led the defensive line with 38 tackles, four sacks and 16 tackles for loss, which tied linebacker Jason Glenn for the team lead. It was the beginning of a dominate two years on the line for Warren.

In 2001, Warren started out at nose tackle and was the cog in the middle that helped A&M in allowing just 294 yards per game. The Aggies also limited opponents to 113.4 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry. Most of the reason was Warren taking out numerous offensive linemen in the middle on each play.

Warren got his licks in too. He had 41 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks and led the team with eight quarterback hurries. He earned his first of two consecutive First-Team All-Big 12 honors. At 6-foot-4 and 308 pounds, Warren showed his versatility as well as he moved to defensive end for two games in the 2001 season.

In 2002, Warren showed just how good and quick he could be on the end as he was moved to leftside defensive end while Marcus Jasmin permanently took over the middle at nose tackle. Warren increased his tackle total for the fourth straight season by picking up 52 on the season. He also tallied 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and two blocked kicks.

Warren's play made him the 13th overall draft pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots after New England traded to get the pick and the rights to Warren. In his rookie season, Warren played in all 16 games for the Super Bowl champions. In 2004, he won another championship ring but this time as a starter. In 2006, Warren made a career-high 117 tackles and 7.5 sacks. In 2007, he was elected team captain by his teammates and was signed to a five-year contract extension through 2013 after the season.

The success that Warren has seen in the NFL isn't a surprise to anyone who watched him play on Saturdays at Kyle Field. Constantly a leader and a teammate above all else, Warren was a warrior on the field that destroyed offensive linemen, running backs and quarterbacks.

In the twilight stage of the Wrecking Crew era, Warren was the star that kept shining brightly and will forever be remembered as one of the best defensive linemen to ever play for A&M.

Like what you're seeing? Click HereClick Here to view this Link. to subscribe and get 24 hours of Texas A&M coverage every day from the best team coverage and recruiting coverage you'll get anywhere on your Aggies. Now with a new subscription you will get one year (56 issues) free of Sports Illustrated! Already a monthly member? Click hereClick Here to view this Link. to save money (two months free!), get free text alerts and a one-year subscription to SI by upgrading to an annual membership. With unprecedented coverage of August camp and the 2008 football season just around the corner, now is the time to join the AggieYell.com family today!