The Penn State football team has a batch of returners for the 2025-26 season, all of which are necessary pieces to get the Nittany Lions back to the College Football Playoffs. However, Penn State is without one crucial player: Tyler Warren.
The former Nittany Lion tight end declared for the 2025 NFL Draft after his senior season in Happy Valley and was selected No. 14 overall by the Indianapolis Colts.
As a senior, Warren recorded 104 receptions for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 11.9 yards per catch. He had an additional 26 carries for 218 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Warren set the record among tight ends in the Big Ten in receptions and receiving yards. After the 2024-25 season, he was honored as the John Mackey Award recipient, which is given to the most outstanding tight end in college football.
Throughout his career at Penn State, he totaled 19 receiving and six rushing touchdowns for a total of 25 scoring plays. Warren had 153 career receptions for 1,839 total yards.
Especially given the weaknesses in the wide receiver corps in 2024-25, Warren was an essential player for Penn State. Despite revamping the wideout group through the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions are no doubt in need of replacing the tight end weapon. The question is if they can do it successfully.
Head coach James Franklin has a massive weight on his shoulders. Penn State has to outperform its previous season, which means winning those big games. Take the playoffs out of the picture for a moment, Franklin needs to tally wins against Oregon at home and Ohio State on the road. That's step one and two. Now heading into playoffs, the Nittany Lions need to make the CFP Championship Game that they missed out on with a loss to Notre Dame in 2024-25.
Analyst David Pollack said on See Ball Get Ball that the biggest issue for Penn State is replacing those big time players on the perimeter — the slash players. The defense and offensive line will be stronger compared to last season, and the wide receiver struggles have been dealt with in the offseason.
"The defense is going to be really good, really solid. [Drew Allar] is a three-year starter. Running back is obviously studly,” Pollack said. “I think I’ll go with the weapons on offense. Can they be proven in the passing game and win on the outside to create space to run more?”
The Nittany Lions have a sophomore tight end in Luke Reynolds who, according to Nittany Sports Now, is due for a breakout year. He was the No. 1 tight end in the class of 2024 and this upcoming season will be an opportunity to get reps in to excel his development. Behind Warren, on-field time is expected to be limited as seen in 2024-25.
It may a game or two for Reynolds to have a big role in the Penn State's offense, and he won't be a carbon copy of Warren out of the gate, but he fits nicely with Allar and Andy Kotelnicki's offense enough to have a meaningful impact.