Penn State’s offense ran through tight end Tyler Warren last season, with the Swiss Army knife racking up a team-leading 104 receptions for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns, along with 26 carries for 218 yards and four rushing scores.
This spring, Warren became the No. 12 overall pick in the NFL draft, joining the Indianapolis Colts — the same location he visited previously for Big Ten Media Days, the Big Ten championship and the NFL combine.
In addition to Warren’s departure, Penn State also saw its two leading wide receivers — Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans — transfer to Ole Miss and Washington, respectively. The departures of three leading pass-catchers left a major void for James Franklin and Co. to fill this offseason, but the staff is impressed with the early returns from this year’s group.
Tight ends
“People are thinking there’s going to be a drop-off,” Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days. “We got a guy named Dinkins who’s going to have a big year for us.”
Though none of the returning tight ends are proven commodities, Khalil Dinkins steps into the veteran role and is arguably the best blocker of the bunch. Franklin expressed confidence that he would join a long line of recent Nittany Lion tight ends to join the professional ranks.
Redshirt sophomore Andrew Rappleyea is a wild card after missing all of last season, but Franklin said he was poised to be the No. 2 tight end last season before injury and compared him to Warren last August.
Franklin also named Luke Reynolds, a former five-star recruit, as someone who will play a sizable role this season. Reynolds has the highest ceiling of the group and showed flashes of big-play ability last season as a freshman, but he’s still learning the position after transitioning from quarterback.
Though it’ll be nearly impossible for one player to fill the giant Tyler Warren-sized hole in the offense, Penn State will seemingly try to recreate him in the aggregate, Moneyball-style.
“Ty Howle, our tight ends coach, has done a phenomenal job,” Franklin said. “One after another, those guys are impactful on Saturdays, and they’re also getting drafted into the NFL at a high rate.”
Wide receivers
With Wallace, Evans and Julian Fleming now out of the mix, Penn State brought in three transfer portal wide receivers to stabilize a position of need. Franklin cited “proven production” as a key factor in their pursuit of new additions.
Franklin referenced the experience of USC transfer Kyron Hudson and Syracuse transfer Trebor Pena as former team captains and spoke glowingly of Troy transfer Devonte Ross’ performance against Iowa last season.
“I’m watching the Iowa game. I got a ton of respect for Iowa on special teams. I got a ton of respect for Iowa on defense,” Franklin said. “Troy’s beating Iowa at halftime, and he’s got two touchdowns, a long reception and a punt return for a touchdown.”
As far as in-house talent, Liam Clifford is the only returning receiver with more than two receptions last season. Clifford is expected to push for time in the slot, even if he doesn’t land a starting role.
In addition, quarterback Drew Allar said freshman Koby Howard “is gonna be a real play-maker for us” and Allar expects him to play “at some point this year.”
With a talented tight end room and more proven options out wide, Allar has an opportunity to surpass his previous seasons in terms of statistical output. But Franklin said he’ll need a level of help he hasn’t always gotten.
“We need more than Tyler Warren making plays for him. (Allar’s) gotten some criticism in the past that I don’t think is warranted or fair,” Franklin said. “I watch TV all the time with quarterbacks throwing up into double coverage and a wide out goes up and snatches the ball, and everybody’s like,’ what? Unbelievable throw.’ It wasn’t a good throw. A big time wide receiver made a play for him. We need more of that for Drew.”
With so much turnover at the skill positions, Penn State’s pass-catching group will look different this fall, but there’s no shortage of optimism in Happy Valley. Between a tight end room full of high-upside athletes and a revamped receiver corps with proven experience, the pieces are there for Allar to take a step forward.
Replacing Warren’s production won’t fall on one player’s shoulders, and Franklin knows it. But if the Nittany Lions can get more help around their quarterback — the kind that turns 50-50 balls into highlights — the offense may not just stay afloat, but take a leap.
