LOS ANGELES — Since 2014, Penn State has had Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson at the tight end position. All four of them became highly drafted NFL players, giving the Nittany Lions one of the strongest lineages of any NFL position group right now. None of them ever did anything like what Tyler Warren has done for Penn State this year.
Warren went off in Penn State’s 33-30 overtime win over USC on Saturday, setting a program and Big Ten record with 17 receptions. He also set a Big Ten record for a tight end with 224 yards, a figure that now stands as second in Penn State history for any receiver.
That wasn’t some kind of crazy outlier. Warren had 146 yards earlier this season against Bowling Green. Through six games, he has 40 catches for 513 yards.
Take a look at the best seasons of that horde of NFL tight ends listed above:
Mike Gesicki, 2016: 48 receptions, 679 yards
Pat Freiermuth, 2019: 43 receptions, 507 yards
Brenton Strange, 2022: 32 receptions, 362 yards
Theo Johnson, 2023: 34 receptions, 341 yards
Only Gesicki has had a better full season than what Tyler Warren has done in first six games of 2024.
Tyler Warren during pregame warmups ahead of the Nittany Lions matchup with Bowling Green.
“I’ve been talking about him being the best tight end in college football, but the reality is, he’s now part of a conversation of one of the best players in all of college football,” head coach James Franklin proclaimed after Warren’s dominant performance in the win.
The Heisman Trophy may be a bit of a stretch, but there’s no question that Warren should be in the conversation for the Mackey Award as the best tight end in the country. All those second round picks? None ever came all that close to winning it.
Warren could have a runaway. That’s just how good he’s been. Saturday in Los Angeles, USC just couldn’t cover him.
“I did not realize that he had 17 catches,’ quarterback Drew Allar said. “Ty Warren had an insane game today. Just super happy for him. I think he’s shown that he’s the best tight end in the country through the first part of the season.”
The funny thing is, Warren isn’t some hot freshman. He’s not a five-star prospect that was being blocked by Strange and Johnson these last few years. He’s been at Penn State so long that he was on the same team as Freiermuth in 2020.
Warren is in his fifth collegiate season. He had more yards Saturday than he did in his first three seasons combined.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Players get better as they get older, there’s no question about that. But what’s the cause of this incredible breakout for Warren? Is it just him stepping out of the shadow of his predecessors? Is he that much better than he was before?
“I think just trusting myself and not trying to do too much and playing within the offense,” Warren said. “I think just being a year older, another year of experience. But really, I feel like our offense has just kind of stepped up a lot since last year, the way we’re playing together.”
Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki during pregame warmups ahead of the Nittany Lions matchup with Bowling Green.
The offense is the key piece of the puzzle. You can’t talk about Warren’s game without talking about how he was used by first-year Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
He lined up as a traditional tight end. He flexed out as a receiver. He was in the backfield. He lined up at quarterback for a Wildcat snap — and even threw a pass.
Most incredibly, he was lined up as a center, at the far left end of an unbalanced line, snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Pribula, who lateraled to Allar, who in turn threw a double pass to Warren in the end zone for his one and only touchdown of the day.
I have NEVER seen a CENTER CATCH A TD
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/U7JpegG7kY
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 12, 2024
“It was super fun,” Allar said. “I think we’ve had it for two weeks now. We’ve repped it a couple times throughout the last couple of weeks. But I think it just shows you can line up anywhere. I don’t know what his snap count was today, but I know he played quarterback, tight end, receiver, center. You can really plug and play him anywhere. I think that’s the coolest part about this offense.”
Yes, Warren is very, very good. But Penn State’s tight ends have been very, very good for a while. This year, it’s different.
The Nittany Lions do not have an overflowing group of talented wide receivers. Before two clutch fourth down receptions in the fourth quarter, Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming didn’t have a catch. Liam Clifford added three catches for 26 yards.
Basically the whole rest of the passing offense was Warren.
Penn State has an all-time great tight end in Tyler Warren. Perhaps more importantly, now Penn State has an offensive coordinator that knows how to use him.
