HAMILTON — Trevor Warner was named as Colgate football's defensive coordinator and safeties coach, announced by Fred '50 and Marilyn Dunlap Head Football Coach Curt Fitzpatrick on Monday morning. Warner heads to Hamilton with over eight years of coaching experience including three seasons at the Division I FCS level.

"I am excited to add Trevor to the Colgate family," Fitzpatrick said. "He is a bright and creative defensive mind, but what always impressed me most about Trevor is the preparation, confidence, and aggressiveness that his players compete with. He is a tremendous teacher and I know he will put our players in the positions to achieve greatness. I look forward to building our defensive identity this spring."

Warner spent his most recent season as the safeties and nickels coach at St. Thomas University, where helped the defense improve in forced takeaways from 13 in 2023 to 23 in 2024, 10 of which came from safeties and/or nickels. The Tommies' interception total also doubled from eight to 15 under Warner's tenure, a figure that led the Pioneer league and helped St. Thomas to a 116.93 defensive pass efficiency, the 21st-best mark in the nation. 

First-team Pioneer Football League All-Academic selection Grif Wurtz was also mentored by Warner at St. Thomas, as was Ryan Clacagno who earned an All-League honorable mention. 

Warner served in the same role with Stony Brook University for the 2023 season, coaching safety Nick Chimienti to a four-takeaway season. Chimienti's four forced turnovers were the second-highest turnover count in the Coastal Athletic Association, and he became only the fourth Seawolf to record at least three interceptions in a season in the past 20 years. 

Also with Stony Brook, Warner again saw success in the turnover battle more than doubling the team's interception count from three in 2022 to eight in 2023, five of which came from Warner's safeties. Overall, seven of Stony Brook's 12 takeaways that season were forced by the safety position. 

The Saint John's University alumni spent five seasons with Ithaca College from 2019-2023, starting as the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach before a promotion to defensive coordinator in 2020.

With the Bombers, Warner directly aided in the development of 23 All-Liberty League selections, including 13 first-team honorees, the 2019 special teams player of the year in Nicholas Bahamonde, and the 2022 conference defensive player of the year and second-team All-American Matt DeSimpliciis.

Warner's first year coordinating saw his defensive unit surrender the least amount of points per game (11.7) from an Ithaca squad since 1989, and in 2022 his unit ranked first in the Liberty League in every major statistical category including scoring defense (9.67), total defense (245.4), rushing defense (105.2), pass defense (140.2), defensive pass efficiency (88.7), and red zone defense (.500).

His success culminated in a 2022 Liberty League Championship with a stellar 12-1 overall record, a 6-0 conference mark, and a national elite eight appearance. 

Warner began his coaching career at Concordia University overseeing defensive backs from 2016-2018 where he mentored Honorable Mention Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference cornerback Dion Wallisch, who led the conference in passes defended per game (1.4) and total pass breakups (13).

After his stint at Concordia, Warner took a role at the University of Pennsylvania where he assumed duties overseeing defensive backs and acted as the defensive quality control coach from 2018-2019.

Warner was a four-year starter at Saint John's University, where he was a two-time team captain leading his squad to a 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) championship and two national playoff berths. He was voted 2015 All-West Region by D3football.com and was a first-team All-MIAC honoree. Warner finished his career sixth in program history with 13 career interceptions, graduating with a bachelor's of arts in Global Business Leadership. 

"I am honored to join the Colgate Raider family and excited for the opportunity to work alongside Coach Fitzpatrick and his staff," Warner said. "Leading the defensive unit is a true privilege, and I am eager to be a catalyst in the development of our student-athletes both on and off the field. I look forward to building meaningful relationships with these young men and working together to build a defense that will make our alumni and the entire Colgate community proud."