Warsaw star tailback Tristan McClone has made a verbal commitment to play at Marian University.

WARSAW – The Marian University football program got some very good news Thursday night.

One could say it was a great night for the Knights.

Warsaw Community High School star tailback Tristan McClone announced that he has made a verbal commitment to play for the Knights.

McClone, one of the captains this past fall for the Tigers, finished his prep career as one of the most prolific running backs in school history. The talented, hard-working and extremely humble McClone rushed for 1,522 yards on 297 carries and scored 18 touchdowns this his senior season in leading the Tigers to a 7-4 mark. He earned All-State and All-NLC honors for his efforts as Warsaw went 5-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference and advanced to the Class 6-A sectional final.

“Everyone knows how I feel about Tristan,” said Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen in an email this afternoon. “It’s a great choice by a great young man. It’s a good program and a super opportunity for Tristan.”

McClone, a 5-11, 210-pounder, ran for a single-season school record 1,718 yards on 320 carries as a junior with 16 touchdowns. He also set the program record with 322 yards in a win over Northridge in a game in which he also scored a record-tying five touchdowns.

McClone, also a standout for the highly-successful Warsaw track program,  finished his prep career with a school record 643 carries for 3,340 yards and 34 touchdowns. He had back-to-back huge seasons the last two after carrying the ball just 26 times for 100 yards as a sophomore.

McClone also received recruiting interest from Army, Indiana State, Valparaiso University and the University of Indianapolis.

Marian, located in Indianapolis, is an NAIA program. The Knights went 6-5 this past season under first-year coach Mark Henninger.