This election season, I’m going to bombard you with one more ad. Although, this one won’t be political in nature.
It does relate to a race heating up across the country as a handful of college football players are launching their Heisman campaigns, and I think it’s time to lobby for Tyler Warren.
While it’s felt more of a meme than a reality, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that Tyler Warren at least be considered for the Heisman Trophy even if it feels unreasonable of an ask. At least right now. At least by the way he’s been playing of late.
Before Penn State entered the Coliseum on Saturday, I figured if there was a real chance that Penn State would win, there’d be buzz around a potential Heisman Trophy candidate coming out of the game. Even despite Warren’s efforts against Bowling Green, I’d figured it would be Drew Allar or Nicholas Singleton throwing their hat into the ring.
But Warren’s 17-catch effort was unavoidably noticeable once again.
After the Kent State win, I’d opined that I hadn’t seen a Penn State player take over a game like Warren did since Saquon Barkley did against Iowa in 2017. Then he one-upped himself, and much like Barkley, it was in a moment that mattered much more all while mattering more to the outcome.
It’s very reasonable to say that Penn State would have lost that game if Warren wasn’t on the field – or even playing half as decently as he did. Beside his 17 catches (a program record), Warren now ranks second all-time in Penn State’s single game receiving yards record book with 224 and even shattered his own record of 146 yards by a tight end. He threw for a first down Saturday and picked one up on the ground as well. Of course, he broke the internet and then some by snapping the ball and then catching the ball after a double-pass for a crucial touchdown to set the tone for the second half. (And might I add, he did so while being interfered with.)
He leads the Big Ten’s tight end brotherhood in virtually every statistic and nationally ranks top five in many of those as well.
Through six games this season, it’s hard to argue no one deserves to be Penn State’s MVP more than Warren or that even anyone is close.
But that’s where the conundrum begins. Even in the face of the fact that Warren plays on the presently ranked No. 3 team in the country, he’s a tight end, and tight ends don’t get the attention they deserve.
That also might be a college problem.
There’s often been this idea that college football is influencing the NFL – and schematically it is. However, while our love for the tight end is growing at the NFL level, the position’s awareness hasn’t caught on quite like it has at the next level. Some of that may have to relate to the personalities pro tight ends have – and maybe one’s particular girlfriend – but at least at the NFL level, they’re showcased, appreciated and schemed for. Guys like Travis Kelce, George Kittle and even Penn State’s own Pat Freiermuth are legitimate weapons that feel a part of the game.
At the college level and the prevalence of spread and RPO offenses, there is an argument to be made that they’re underutilized, and that probably relates to the fact as to why Warren won’t get any real shot at the Heisman even if his torrid pace continues.
Tight ends have never and probably will never get the buzz that a quarterback, a running back or even some wide receivers will get, and to take that a step forward, Heisman voters tend to love those guys more than any other position. Since the turn of the century, there’s been just two defense players to finish in the top three of Heisman voting: Aiden Hutchinson and Manti Te’o. (I’d argue Te’o’s stats weren’t as good as a certain Michael Mauti’s but another hill for another day.) And even in the history of the Heisman Trophy, just one tight end, Leon Hart of Notre Dame, has won the award. That was in 1949.
Of course, every year it seems there is the drum beat that the Heisman Trophy is just really the best quarterback and/or running back award and that it needs to change. This is probably just another notch in those entries, but yes, a reminder that the Heisman is about the best player in college football, not the best quarterback or running back in college football. Am I saying Warren is the best player in college football right now? No. Am I saying he’s one of the best players in college football right now? Absolutely.
Once again, Penn State is not 6-0 without him. Penn State is not one of the best teams in the country without him, and if Penn State continues to win this year, it will have to rely on Warren.
Part of what’s hampering Warren’s chance relates to the fact he wasn’t on any preseason lists that dictate or heavily influence the early rumblings of Heisman watch. A cursory glance of betting odds still doesn’t show Warren’s name listed and much like how one can make the argument that the AP Poll skews expectations in the early half of the season, betting markets impact who gets attention – and who doesn’t – in the race to the Heisman.
Further, there’s an inherent meme-ness to Warren thing – just because of his novelty and some of that novelty raining down from NFL level. He runs, he blocks, he catches, he throws and he snaps. But it’s not a glamorous way. It’s in a workmen-like, traditional tight end attitude. While that endears him to many Penn State fans and PA’s blue collar roots, nationally it’s not splashy enough to catch attention the way other positions and their stat lines can.
That’s also why I’m just not sure we’re collectively ready to award a Heisman in this era to a tight end. It’s kind of hard to take a burly dude who isn’t the fastest or the most graceful seriously. Voters have to consider him dynamic enough to be better than the top 10 QBs and running backs. I’ve accepted that there’s going to be a learning curve for us as a football-loving society to understand why tight ends are such valuable assets for teams, especially in a time where we value sub 4.40 40s and ankle breaking jukes.
It’s goofy. It’s different. But that doesn’t mean Warren is any less talented or good. However much of that talent and unique appreciation is closed in around Happy Valley. This column even contributes to the insular nature of Penn State fandom, and most of the buzz that cares about or is thinking about Warren’s candidacy sports blue and white.
However, if Warren can continue on the pace (OK maybe not the USC game-pace) of strong play for this offense, that means Penn State’s offense will win the Nittany Lions a lot more games, and if Penn State wins a lot more games, it’s going to be hard for Heisman voters to ignore Warren.
This fall, I’m not asking for your vote. I’m just asking that you think about using your vote for Tyler Warren in the Heisman Trophy race.
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