There have been two definitive storylines this offseason when it comes to Penn State football — both of which go hand-in-hand.
The first is how Andy Kotelnicki will hopefully bring explosive plays to Penn State’s offense. In 2023, the Nittany Lions’ offense needed them desperately. The second storyline revolved around how Penn State’s unproven wide receiving corp is going to have to be a major key in making that happen.
In the midst of all of that, we seemingly forgot about Tyler Warren.
For Penn State to have success Saturday against West Virginia and success in 2024 overall, Warren – the now veteran tight end – is going to have to be a major piece in all of that much like he was last year.
In 2023, Warren finished second in receptions on Penn State’s roster, tied with now NFL tight end Theo Johnson. The duo caught 34 passes each with now transferred wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith grabbing 53.
Though, it isn’t who is ahead of Warren (or Johnson) that’s interesting. It’s who was behind them. Running back Nicholas Singleton caught 26 passes – good enough for fourth – and also transferred Dante Cephas was the next closest receiver at 22 receptions.
And of Penn State’s 30 passing touchdowns last year, 16 of them came thanks to the hands of a tight end, not a wide receiver.
That shows how dependent – and at times pitiful – Penn State’s offense was in 2023 on not “chucking it deep” and playing the underneath game. Mind you this is also an offense that still put up 36.2 points per game but those catch stats also show how dependable Warren was as an asset in 2023 and can be in 2024.
Much of the anticipation for Kotelnicki’s plan at Penn State has been built around the philosophy of getting the best players the ball.
“The other [element] that I’m adamant about, and that was challenging and problematic the last couple years, was the emphasis of getting the ball into your best players’ hands,” James Franklin told the media in June. “You’ve got to be able to do that as a playcaller, and that was a big part of this interview process with Andy.”
The growth we’ve seen from Warren over the years has made him one of those players, too. Warren caught just five passes back in 2021. (That was when there were rumors of his usage as trick-play quarterback too. Remember that?). In 2022 – still behind Johnson and Brenton Strange on the depth chart, Warren caught 10 and three touchdowns.
But 2023 seemed like a massive step forward for the former quarterback turned tight end. Warren was dependable. He seemed more confident. He also was Drew Allar’s safety valve – one which he needed quite a bit. Warren, the Virginia native, even dazzled with one of the more interesting catches in Penn State history at the Peach Bowl.
Yet there wasn’t much noise about him this offseason. No real hype the way others have gotten it. The only time he blipped the radar was a Mackey Award watch list nomination. It even seemed like a surprise when he wasn’t one of Penn State’s top players in EA Sports College Football 25 – a metric that does mean something after all.
If anything, Penn State’s preseason hype coming out of that room wasn’t for Warren. Frequently this offseason, the names Andrew Rappleyea and Luke Reynolds, a redshirt freshman and true freshman respectively, popped up.
In Franklin’s tenure, he helped elevate names like Jesse James, Mike Gesicki and Pat Freiermuth. While there have been struggles in the wide receiver room, Penn State’s has been a dependable tight end producing machine.
Now, it’s Warren’s turn to be the leader of that room and maybe that’s why that lack of noise might be a good thing.
The noise probably doesn’t need to be there. Instead, it’s been elsewhere.
Penn State – while replacing some aspects of its offensive line year over year – effectively has the same skill positions players this year, which is why many are a bit anxious about that receiving group. Ideally, Kotelnicki’s game planning and maybe Penn State’s overall athleticism should be enough to overpower the Mountaineers.
But if things go a bit sideways at points on Saturday, at least there is some confidence that the Allar-to-Warren connection isn’t going anywhere – as long as it isn’t forgotten about it.
Matchup
vs. 
Time: 12 p.m.
TV: Fox
Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Announcers: Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp
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