Inside 4-Star Chris Warren's Crazy Coin Flip National Signing Day Decision

It may have been the most important coin flip college football recruiting has ever seen.

Or maybe the only coin flip college football recruiting has ever seen.

For Texas signee Chris Warren III, his college future came down to a game of chance Wednesday. The 4-star running back said he was so torn between choosing Texas or Washington on national signing day that he let fate decide. 

"I decided to bring a coin, no joke," Warren told Bleacher Report. "It was a Mount Hood, Oregon, quarter, actually. [Tuesday night], I was really thinking Texas, but I woke up this morning thinking Washington. I didn't know what I was going to do."

During his signing day ceremony, Warren pulled out the quarter, flipped it and decided his college plans based on what he saw on the coin.

"It landed heads," Warren said.

The question everyone wants to know: Why? Why let a coin decide the next four or five years of your life?

Warren said he got the idea from his mother. K'tara Lopez said she originally wanted her son to list the pros and cons with each school, weigh all options athletically and academically and go through any other necessary steps to make sure he ultimately made the right decision.

Warren did the research. He went on visits. He asked tons of questions to coaches. He did everything he was supposed to. And on Wednesday, he still had no definite answer.

Texas and Washington kept coming up even for Warren. So Lopez gave him the advice.

"I told him if everything was even when it was time to decide to flip the coin," Lopez said. "If it comes up with an answer you like, then you go with it, but if you find yourself saying, 'Best two out of three,' then you know that the other option is the one you truly want.

"At the end of day, if you've got two great programs and can't decide, you flip a coin."

The coin landed on heads, and heads for Warren meant Texas—and happy times for Charlie Strong, his coaching staff and anyone else who recruited the 6'2", 240-pound jumbo back.

Tails, however, meant the Huskies would finish a frustrating second place in a recruiting race so close that a quarter literally decided the outcome. Tweeted Warren:

Warren was asked multiple times if the quarter was a part of a clever act.

"It wasn't," he said. "If you know me, you know it wasn't a joke."

After the flip, Warren picked up a pen and signed a letter of intent with Texas. Just like that, and with the help of a fax machine, he was a Longhorn.

"It's not like there was a bad choice. Both schools are great," Warren said. "There's nothing negative about either place, and I could see myself at both schools.

"I felt comfortable about whether it landed heads or tails."

And thanks to the quarter landing heads, Texas gets a running back who can run with power and patience, then mix things up and run with agility and lateral movement. He's a downhill back who hits another gear when he finds a small opening. Warren had multiple 200-yard games as a running back for Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas.

Some may say Warren runs a lot like his father, who has the same first name and played 11 seasons in the NFL. The 6'2" Warren was a tall back who ran hard and delivered punishing hits in the process. He spent most of his pro years with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Longhorns are hoping to get a similar back in the younger Warren. During a press conference, Charlie Strong discussed Warren's chances for playing time as a freshman among the options already in the backfield:

"

The thing about Chris is that he is just a big, strong back. Last year, he would have a game of 200 yards, 300 yards. He didn't have to run over people, but he had enough speed and quickness to get outside and run around them. It's just so hard to say who is going to play right now, but he'll have a chance to come in and play.

"

Warren said he's looking to earn game time next season, but he's unsure of the role he'll play.

"They plan on making me not necessarily a centerpiece but a large part of the offense," he said. "It all depends on how I compete in practice. If I compete as the best player, I'll play regardless of who's on the team."

Warren said he's excited about the next chapter in his football career. He added that he's most excited about the recruiting process officially being over. He talked about his phone dying after 45 minutes of being fully charged because of the calls he took.

It's all over now. Thanks to the help of a quarter.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst with Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand. Player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' Composite ratings. Follow Damon on Twitter: @DamonSayles