The Penn State Nittany Lions had a season to remember. While they fell short of their ultimate goal of a national championship, they still managed one of their best seasons in recent memory under head coach James Franklin. A major reason for that success stemmed from the constant production of star tight end Tyler Warren.
Warren has been with Penn State for four seasons, but it wasn’t until this year that he truly emerged onto the scene. In 2023, he caught seven touchdowns on just 34 receptions for 422 yards. However, his production skyrocketed this season, finishing with 104 receptions, 1,233 receiving yards, 218 rushing yards, and 12 total touchdowns.
He was quarterback Drew Allar’s favorite target on the road to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Yet, following the team’s loss to Notre Dame, Warren made an expected career announcement on Monday night, posting that he is declaring for the NFL draft, where he is projected to be one of the top tight ends in the draft class.
In response to the news, Penn State issued a heartfelt five-word message to Warren, who embraced being a Nittany Lion.
“What a ride… Thank you, 44.” Penn State posted.
Warren became the first player in Penn State’s program history to win the Mackey Award, which is given to the best tight end in college football. He was widely recognized for his outstanding play, with many of his peers acknowledging his talent. One of those being head coach James Franklin, who raved all season about the player Warren is on the football field.
“Tyler Warren, obviously, he’s a unique guy,” Franklin said earlier this year. “Everybody talks about obviously his production as a receiver and as a runner, but it’s also as a blocker… He’s smart enough to line up at the number one receiver, the number two receiver, the number three receiver, in the backfield as a fullback or H-back. However you want to describe it.”
He added after the Notre Dame loss, “Like Tyler Warren, big gangly kid from Virginia that we recruited as a basketball player and was committed to another school at quarterback, and he shows up here and will go down as one of the greatest tight ends in college football history.”