Chico McClatcher was born to be a Husky
At 4 years old, Chico McClatcher was already a regular in the huddle.
Before becoming the most versatile player for the Washington Huskies’ offense, young McClatcher was a versatile fill-in during practices for the Seattle Warbirds of the Women’s American Football League.
His mom, Kam Warner, was a running back on the area’s first women’s professional team, and wherever she went on the field Chico always seemed to be by her side.
“I saw an ad in the newspaper in 2000 for that first women’s team,” Warner said. “Chico was about 4. We didn’t have a baby-sitter, and we practiced like four hours a day four times a week, so he would come with me. That was his exposure. He would come in the huddle and help out. He was like ears up the whole time.”
Warner had grown up with football. Some of her best childhood memories were watching NFL games with her dad .
“That was our thing,” she said. “I loved it.”
Her son did, too. He didn’t have much choice.
Warner played off and on for more than a decade, joining the Seattle Majestics of the Independent Women’s Football League and then the Seattle Mist of the Lingerie Football League in 2010-11.
Chico, she said, was always supportive of her playing football, and she in turn has remained his most ardent fan. Of course, she said, she will make the trip to Atlanta for the Huskies’ national-semifinal game against No. 1 Alabama on Dec. 31. No way she’d miss it.
“It feels like a dream,” she said.
Warner was a standout track-and-field athlete for UW in the mid-1990s, and after her freshman year she won the hurdles title at the USA Junior Nationals. She still ranks among the top 10 in program history in two events (the long jump, 19 feet, 9 inches; and the 60-meter indoor hurdles, 8.62 seconds).
It was at UW that Warner met Chico’s father, Chico McClatcher III. Their romance was short-lived, but they’ve remained close.
Her collegiate career stalled when Chico was born, but she returned to finish her final year of eligibility in 1997 and earned her bachelor’s degree.
She works as a parole officer, and also has a part-time job working with challenged youth at a residential inpatient facility.
“She’s sacrificed a lot to get me where I’m at right now,” Chico said. “So I’m just glad I’m here at her alma mater and playing football.”
Chico inherited his mom’s speed, which was on full display during the 9-year-old boy’s first football game in a Federal Way, Washington, youth league. “Oh, it was ridiculous,” Warner said. “He had something like four carries for 200 yards and four touchdowns.”
Chico was a sensation at Federal Way High, with more 8,000 all-purpose yards and 91 touchdowns during a four-year varsity career. After shifting from running back to slot receiver at UW, the 5-foot-7, 179-pound second-year sophomore has 29 catches for 580 yards and six touchdowns this season.
He is the ideal complement to star outside receivers John Ross III and Dante Pettis, and his 20.0 yards per catch is best in the Pac-12 this season.
Chico is the soft-spoken sort, even with his mom. His Twitter bio – “Work hard & always remain humble” – seems to sum him up well. He doesn’t talk football much with her, and he never complained much about the MCL injury in his left knee suffered in UW’s victory over Stanford.
The injury kept him out of the 70-21 victory at Oregon a week later. He played just a handful of snaps against Oregon State on Oct. 22, and clearly wasn’t up to full speed for several more weeks after that, posting four total catches against Utah, California and USC.
He finally looked healthy again in late November, taking a short Jake Browning pass and turning it into a 75-yard touchdown against Arizona State. He added six catches for 80 yards in the Apple Cup.
Now, he said, “I’m feeling way better. … I’m feeling 100 percent and running good and making cuts. I’m not really worried about my knee.”