Tyler Warren solidifying why he’s College Football’s best tight end

MINNEAPOLIS — The Nittany Lions’ star tight end is already a household name in the Big Ten, and as they approach week 14 he appears to be the clear-cut favorite for the John Mackey Award.

After all, Tyler Warren put together another stellar performance in Penn State’s 26-25 road victory over Minnesota, in which he put the team on his back, and carried them to the finish line. Warren created mismatches out in coverage, and showed why he’s the ultimate safety net for quarterback Drew Allar.

Coach James Franklin made it a priority to get the ball in Warren’s hands down the stretch, and he didn’t disappoint. The Virginia native was targeted 11 times, and hauled in a game-high, eight catches for 102 yards. His most important reception of the contest came on Penn State’s final drive of the fourth quarter.

The Nittany Lions were facing their third fourth down attempt at the Golden Gophers’ 11-yard line, when Allar found Warren for a game-sealing completion. Not to mention Warren understood the moment, and was smart of enough to go down safely in bounds after he picked up the first down. It was the biggest play of the day, and put an exclamation point on Warren’s performance.

The senior never second-guessed any of the risky fourth down calls in the clutch by the coaching staff, including a fake punt, because they never draw up anything that the players can’t execute.

“I think as an offense we always want to go for it, and do that, but we also let the coaches do their jobs, and we’re not going to cause problems if we don’t agree with it necessarily,” Warren said. “I feel like we’re confident, and we obviously want to go for it every chance we have.”

Warren also generated 41 yards after the catch against Minnesota’s defense. The six-foot-six, 261-pounder showed why he’s the front-runner for the award that goes to the best tight end in College Football. No doubt Warren checks all of the boxes, considering he’s a leader, who makes big plays in big moments, takes pride in executing on the gridiron and never panics in times of adversity.

Warren strongly believes the rest of his teammates on offense are the same way too, and they’re all grateful for the win because they made the necessary adjustments.

“I think all of these times that we’ve been down at halftime, there haven’t been any pointing fingers, or bad attitudes going back to the locker room,” he said. “That’s why we’re set up really well for the second half, and it’s hard to win College Football games now more than ever, because it seems each week there are teams losing, so any chance we can get a win, we’ll take it.”

Now Penn State (10-1) is likely one win away from reaching its’ first-ever berth in the Playoffs, and has a seven-loss Maryland team looming in week 14. The stakes will still be high, because the Nittany Lions likely don’t have a margin for error, nor should they take the Terrapins for granted.

Warren leads the team with 75 receptions, 910 receiving yards and five touchdown catches. He’s currently second among FBS tight ends in receiving yards, and only behind Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. Regardless, Warren is the most dangerous weapon on Penn State’s offense, and opposing defenses continues to have trouble containing him. The scary part about Warren’s 2024 campaign so far, is the fact that his best is yet to come.

As long as the No. 4 Nittany Lions continue to play like they did on their last drive against the Golden Gophers, Warren is confident good things will come in return for the offense.

“To execute like that, and we know how to end the game on our own terms if necessary, and that’s what we did, so it was nice.”