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Jack Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
Long before he won Super Bowls and dated Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce delivered rim-rattling dunks and hit home runs as a three-sport star for Cleveland Heights High School. Kelce also played quarterback, setting him on a course to become a Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro and the top tight end in NFL history.
Like Kelce, Penn State’s Tyler Warren was once a three-sport star, earning all-state honors in football, basketball and baseball in Mechanicsville, Virginia. He was a barreling, left-handed quarterback for Atlee High School. Now a senior with the third-ranked Nittany Lions, Warren is just beginning to realize his immense potential as a doable, standout tight end.
“He’s a helluva tight end,” said Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, who played one season with Warren at Penn State before entering the NFL. “He reminds me of Kells.”
Warren still has a long way to go before such lofty comparisons can be validated. But he’s on pace to become Penn State’s first All-American since Freiremuth in 2019, and could become its first All-American at the position since Kyle Brady earned the honor en route to being a first-round draft pick in 1995.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Warren leads the Power 4 tight end with 47 receptions for 559 yards. He is one of only 13 FBS players to produce receiving, rushing and passing touchdowns this season.
On Saturday, the undefeated Nittany Lions face fourth-ranked Ohio State in a Big Ten showdown that carries huge playoff and conference title implications. Penn State hasn’t beaten the rest in seven years. But in Warren, the Nittany Lions boast a unique weapon capable of providing offensive punch and ultimately putting them over the top.
First-year Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who called Warren “one of a kind,” deployed him in creative ways, including at running back and quarterback.
In a 56–0 win over Kent State on September 21, Warren lined up in the shotgun, caught a pass and rumbled 17 yards. Later, he hauled in a 16-yard scoring grab down the seam from quarterback Drew Oler. Then, before the end of the first half, Warren threw a swing pass from shotgun to running back Nicholas Singleton for a 17-yard touchdown.
To top it off, Warren made a spectacular save down the sideline with his right hand, absorbing a hit without going down.
“I really like being able to be in different spots, help make our offense more versatile and get other guys open,” said Warren, who had a 3-yard scoring plunge on the opening drive the following week. 21-7 win over Illinois. “I’m doing everything I can to help our offense.”
As dominant as Warren has been in the first month, he was “special,” as Kotelnicki said, during an overtime win at USC on Oct. 12.
Warren tied the FBS tight end record and broke a Penn State mark with 17 receptions as the Nittany Lions rallied from a 20-6 halftime deficit to stun the Trojans 33-30. It was Penn State’s second-largest return since James Franklin took over as head coach a decade ago.
The biggest play of the game came two minutes into the second half, when Warren lined up through a tactical formation. He snapped the ball to backup quarterback Beau Prybula, who threw a lateral to his left. The Trojans were not fooled and covered Warren. But he still jumped over USC safety Zion Branch to snag Alla’s 32-yard touchdown throw.
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Tyler Warren makes miraculous catch for Penn State TD on trick play
Tyler Warren makes an impossible catch from Drew Aller to cut the deficit to Penn State vs. USC.
Warren played nearly every position in high school, including punter and holder; He even kicked onside. But Warren admits he never snapped the ball in a game as an 8-year-old in Little League flag football. The stunning score sparked the Penn State rally, as Warren finished with 224 receiving yards, the second-most in school history — at any position.
“I talked about him being the best tight end in college football,” Franklin said later, “but the reality is, he’s part of the conversation (as) one of the best players in college football right now.”
The performance reminded Atlee football coach Matt Gray of a game against Henrico when Warren ran for two touchdowns, passed for another and blocked a punt while playing defensively on nearly every down.
Gray took Attlee’s job in February 2016 and began scanning the roster to determine who could be his quarterback. One of Gray’s assistants told him that his future quarterback was actually still in middle school, playing eighth-grade basketball “like every game.”
A few months later, Gray met Warren in the weight room, firing off a series of nonstop chin-ups.
“I pulled him aside and told him, ‘I love the things you can do in this weight room. We’re going to try and get improvement out of you. It sounds like you’ve got a good work ethic. But one thing I What I can’t appreciate is how tough you are,” Gray recalled of their first conversation. “He looked at me without hesitation and said, ‘I just have to show up.’
“At that point, I was like, ‘I think we’ve got something here.'”
Warren played quarterback for Gray as a freshman and became an all-state punter on top of everything else.
“There was nothing he couldn’t do for us,” said Gray, who laughed watching Warren make plays throughout the USC game, noting to himself, “Yeah, I know right there.”
Warren was also an all-state center fielder while batting in the middle of Atlee’s lineup. A few years ago in 2015, Warren came one game away from leading Mechanicsville to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the Southeast Regional Qualifying Tournament, where he slugged three home runs.
hardwood, which eventually led Warren to Penn State. Warren initially committed to play football for Virginia Tech before his junior season. But he wasn’t getting much attention from college recruiters.
“Teams had questions about his athletic ability and whether he could transition from quarterback to tight end,” Atlee basketball coach Raleigh Axel said. “Was he strong enough? Could he run fast enough? How athletic was he?”
So Warren put together a compilation of basketball highlights from his junior season, featuring an array of electrifying dunks. Warren sent the video, and football offers started pouring in, including from the Nittany Lions.
“The dunks were the main thing, but it showcased his overall athleticism,” said Axel, who joked that Warren could do almost anything on the basketball court except dribble with his right hand. (Warren added that he could never throw strikes consistently as a pitcher.) “It’s crazy how much it (the video) changed his recruiting trajectory.”
Warren’s trajectory now makes him a coveted prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. currently ranks Warren as the No. 22 eligible prospect.
“Learning a new position (at Penn State) … it’s just about fine-tuning his skills as a tight end,” said Freiermuth, who was shocked by how much Warren improved in the offseason and adapted to Kotelnicki. Scheme “I know he had a chance to leave after last year, but it was a really smart decision for him to come back and show what he can do when he’s the focal point of the offense. … He’s got a really bright future ahead of him. In the NFL.”
One NFL personnel executive said it’s a stretch to compare Warren Freiremuth to Kelce, given how easily Kelce gets open and how fast he is with the ball. But the executive also noted that Warren is a better blocker than he was coming out of Cincinnati 11 years ago. The executive instead sees similarities to second-year Green Bay Packers playmaker Tucker Kraft, who leads NFL tight ends with 10.2 yards per reception after the catch and ranks second with 14.3 yards per reception.
“A very reliable, very versatile player,” the executive said of Warren. “Athletic, tough, competes. … He’s going to be an NFL starter very easily.”
That will have to wait. Warren is now a Penn State asset. And this weekend, Ohio State is in trouble.
