This is one in a series of stories breaking down each player on Penn State football’s 2026 roster.
Gabe Burkle comes to Penn State with experience.
That is the first thing that stands out.
Burkle, a redshirt senior tight end from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, spent four seasons at Iowa State before transferring to Penn State. At 6-foot-6, 247 pounds, he gives PSU another big body in a tight end room that has a mix of production, youth and new faces entering 2026.
Burkle had his best season last year, appearing in nine games and making seven starts for Iowa State, catching 26 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown.
He averaged 11.6 yards per catch and ended the season with a reception in 16 consecutive games.
His production was spread throughout the year.
Burkle caught three passes for 31 yards against Kansas State, four passes for 85 yards against South Dakota and scored on a 16-yard touchdown against Iowa. He added three catches for 42 yards at Colorado and five catches for 44 yards against BYU.
That production helped him land on the John Mackey Award Watch List in 2025.
Burkle was also productive in 2024, playing in 14 games and starting eight. He finished that season with 26 receptions for 296 yards and one touchdown. Before that, he played in 13 games in 2023, catching two passes for nine yards, after appearing in two games and redshirting in 2022.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.According to Pro Football Focus, Burkle played 482 offensive snaps in 2025, including 276 blocking snaps. He finished with a 58.9 overall offensive grade, a 48.1 run-blocking grade and a 61.9 pass-blocking grade. He didn’t allow a sack and was credited with just two total pressures allowed.
Those numbers show the two sides of his profile.
Burkle can help Penn State as an experienced receiving tight end. The blocking piece, especially in the run game, will be an area to watch.
Before College
Burkle played at Prairie High School, where he helped the program reach the state quarterfinals in 2021. He caught 23 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown as a senior and was rated as a three-star prospect.
Where He Stands
Burkle gives Penn State another veteran option at tight end. Head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Taylor Mouser are expected to have Benjamin Brahmer and Andrew Rappleyea as their TE1 and TE2.
At Penn State it isn’t a foreign concept to leverage and rotate three tight ends. PSU did it in 2022 and 2023 using guys like Theo Johnson, Tyler Warren, Khalil Dinkins, and Brenton Strange.
The question with Burkle is he is not coming in as a projection. He has played and has significant experience.
At minimum, we should expect a similar rotation where Burkle will be like Warren and Dinkins and be a blocking specialist – a strength in his game.
The other component is that Burkle is a valuable insurance policy in the even either Brahmer or Rappleyea have an injury.
