The thought of Tyler Warren being in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy might have been preposterous in August.
Not now.
It’s reasonable to suggest that the Penn State tight end and jack of all trades should be considered for college football’s most prestigious award.
Over the last 40 years, it’s hard to remember any player doing what Warren is doing for the Nittany Lions. It is rare.
He has receiving, rushing and passing touchdowns. He’s an exceptional blocker. He has lined up anywhere, including at center.
He’s the engine that powers the Penn State offense.
“You can find really good players all over the country,” Lions tight ends coach Ty Howle said Thursday. “I don’t know if there are any other guys who can affect a game the way Tyler does, from being on the front side of an outside zone and getting movement on a defensive end who’s 270 pounds to taking a QB power play 48 yards to stretching the field against a corner in man coverage.
“His skill set is definitely what makes him one of the best players in the country.”
The 6-6, 260-pound Warren ranks third in the Big Ten in receiving with 67 catches for 808 yards and five touchdowns. He’s rushed 16 times for 167 yards and four TDs and thrown for another score.
“I don’t think there’s a tight end who has had as big of an impact on an offense as he has had,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “He should be recognized for that. I don’t know if a tight end has ever done what he’s been doing.”
Only two tight ends have won the Heisman, Larry Kelley of Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart of Notre Dame in 1949. Quarterbacks and running backs have won it every other year, except for cornerback Charles Woodson of Michigan in 1997 and wide receiver Devonta Smith of Alabama in 2020.
Warren is a unique player like Woodson and Smith were in college. Woodson was the best cornerback in the country who also was used on offense and in the return game. Smith caught 23 TD passes, an absolutely ridiculous number.
Warren has benefited from the arrival of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki this season.
“You knew that Coach K is a guy who wants to use his best players in a variety of ways,” Howle said. “You knew that Tyler would be one of those weapons. ‘This is a guy who can do this, this and this. Let’s build those skills in the offseason and allow him to be utilized in those ways in the fall.’
“We all had a good idea that this guy could do a lot of things for our offense, but I don’t think anybody could have predicted it to this extent.”
Why Kotelnicki and head coach James Franklin didn’t use Warren near the goal line in the fourth quarter of a 20-13 loss to Ohio State remains a mystery.
What’s certain is that Warren ranks among the greatest tight ends in Penn State history, along with Ted Kwalick, Kyle Brady and Mike Gesicki. He’s on track to become the most prolific one, something he didn’t think was possible as a freshman.
He looked around the room and saw Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange and classmate Theo Johnson – who are all in the NFL – and wondered if he would ever play, let alone star. He had been a quarterback in high school in Mechanicsville, Va., and starred in basketball and baseball, too.
“He was kind of like clay that you can mold into being a really good tight end,” Howle said. “I always thought he had the skills to be developed into an all-around tight end just the way he catches the ball, his toughness and his humility.
“You could see all of those skills early on. They just needed to be refined.”
Warren, a first-team midseason All-American, is being projected as a first-round draft pick. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime player.
“He makes our offense go,” Allar said. “He does a lot of the dirty work that won’t be on SportsCenter or show up in the stats. He can do anything that you ask him to do. He’s not only the best tight end in America, he’s the most complete tight end in America.”
And maybe the most complete player.
