Andy Kotelnicki has coached many versatile players throughout his career, but none have matched what Penn State tight end Tyler Warren is doing.
Standing tall at 6-foot-6 and weighing 260 pounds, Warren lined up in nine different positions, went in motion seven times, blocked, carried the ball, caught passes, and even pitched the ball during No. 3 Penn State’s first possession last week in an overtime victory against Southern California.
Later, during his record-tying 17 catches against the Trojans, Warren was key in a special play designed by Kotelnicki. He moved to the center spot, snapped the ball, cut through the defense, and scored a touchdown that helped Penn State come back to win.
Kotelnicki, now in his first year as Penn State’s offensive coordinator, described the play as something he could have made up while playing in the backyard, and it was only possible because of Warren’s unique skills and intelligence.
“He’s pretty special,” Kotelnicki said. “Probably one of a kind in that sense. I’m really enjoying finding creative ways to get him the football and I appreciate his willingness to want to do creative things.”
The Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) are heading to Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) on Saturday, having shown a new aspect of Warren’s game almost every week.
As a result, Penn State is currently 10th in the nation for total offense, after not finishing better than 34th in the past three seasons, and they are in a strong position to compete for the Big Ten championship. Kotelnicki’s effort to get the ball to Warren has been a big factor in this success.
Warren leads Penn State with 40 catches for 513 yards and four touchdowns. He has also carried the ball five times for 38 yards and a touchdown, and completed two passes for 26 yards and another touchdown.
Warren is on track to have a better season than Georgia tight end Brock Bowers had in 2022, which was one of the best seasons for an FBS tight end. The Bulldogs won the national championship that year, and Bowers recorded 63 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games.
“I’ve been talking about him being the best tight end in college football, but the reality is he’s now part of a conversation of one of the best players in all of college football,” said Penn State coach James Franklin. Warren has downplayed the compliments.
“One guy usually will make a play but there are so many things that go into it and 10 other guys that had to do something for that one guy to make a play, so that’s just why I love football,” Warren explained. “It takes a team. It takes the guys around you and that’s something I enjoy.”
Certainly, Penn State’s offensive line has been strong, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton have made big plays, and quarterback Drew Allar has shown he can lead Kotelnicki’s offense right from the start.
But they all recognize that Warren’s special ability to get the ball in many different ways makes them a tough group for opponents to handle.
Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen has faced versatile tight ends before. “It’s the one position that can put the most amount of duress on a defense,” Allen said. “He’s a huge issue.”
When Kotelnicki first met Warren before spring practice, he wanted to see how well the senior understood the game. He had watched a lot of Warren’s college tape and his high school basketball highlights, but he still needed to know how much Warren grasped offensive concepts.
He also wanted to know if Warren could throw the ball. The quiet and humble Warren, who passed for 3,654 yards in high school, was surprised by the question.
“He’s like, ‘Coach, I was a high school quarterback,’” Kotelnicki said. “All this is possible because he has that background athletically, but two, because he just does everything right. He’s a tell-you-once guy.
The fact that he’s that kind of person and the fact that he has that athletic background makes it very feasible to do those things, and fun to be honest with you.”
It was so enjoyable that former teammate Pat Freiermuth, during a visit to his old school over the summer, stuck around longer at practice. He was curious about what Kotelnicki and Warren were working on. He was so interested that he even took some mental notes back to Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
“Even I was confused by all the formations and shifts and stuff they do to exploit a defense,” Freiermuth said. “I’ve never seen stuff like that.” He believes Warren will soon be playing on Sundays.
“We understand the game at a level where we can understand where the holes in the defense are,” Freiermuth said. “We understand different route techniques and stuff like that and how to get open. He just has ‘it.’ He understands the game and when you understand the game, it makes it a lot slower.”
