James Franklin campaigns for Tyler Warren to win Mackey Award, Paul Hornung Award

Penn State star Tyler Warren found the end zone twice on the ground this past weekend in a 35-6 thumping of Washington during a Beaver Stadium “White Out.” The 6-foot-6, 261-pound senior tight end also led the team in receiving with eight receptions for 75 yards.

He remains the centerpiece of the Penn State offense.

Head coach James Franklin talked about him as such in his opening statement after the 29-point blowout win.

“I got a list here of about 35 records that Tyler Warren has broken,” Franklin said. “I’m not going to get into all of them, but he’s a really good football player.

“I can’t see how this guy doesn’t win the Mackey Award and the Paul Hornung Award. I don’t see how he doesn’t. And they’d be proud of that guy representing their award, because he does everything right, both on and off the field. He’s done it that way since the day he stepped on campus.”

Franklin added: “Just a great example of what a Penn State football player is.”

The John Mackey Award is given annually to the best tight end in college football. The Paul Hornung Award recognizes a high-level performer who makes an impact in multiple roles for his team.

Warren is third among all tight ends nationally with 59 receptions this season. He’s tied for second among players at the position with 681 receiving yards this year.

But as good of a tight end as he is, it’s what he does out of position that makes him exceptional. The No. 6 Nittany Lions will often line Warren up at quarterback, where he’ll either run with a direct snap or throw a pass.

Earlier this season, he passed for a touchdown against Kent State. A week later, he ran for a score against Illinois. Two weeks after that, he hauled in 17 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown at USC — that touchdown reception took place on a double pass that started with him snapping the ball.

Flash forward to the second quarter of this past weekend’s game against Washington: Warren caught a deflected pass on 3rd-and-5 for an 11-yard gain, setting the Nittany Lions up for a goal-to-go sequence, during which he took a direct snap and leapt into the end zone for a rushing touchdown.

Warren played quarterback at Atlee High School in Hanover County, Virginia. Reading EDGE players is particularly comfortable for Warren because during his final two high school seasons, the southpaw quarterbacked a Wing-T offense that featured a bunch of power and read-option runs.

He did fumble later in Saturday’s game versus Washington, however, his two goal line rushing scores headlined another impressive performance for the do-it-all tight end, who lines up in the slot for 47.2% of his pass snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Warren was a big part of Penn State’s bounce-back performance a week after his Nittany Lions suffered their first loss of the season, a 20-13 defeat to now-No. 2 Ohio State.

“In our locker room and in the Lasch facility and on our practice fields, we got a ton to be proud of, and we focus on that,” Franklin said of his team’s mindset last week. “We focus on making corrections. And I’m proud of my guys. I’m proud of my staff and how we go about our business.

“We value winning. And if you watch college football all over the country, it’s hard to win on a consistent basis. You see it every single week, upsets and things like that. So we value winning, we respect winning and what it takes. And we get back to work on Sundays in the Lasch building and in the Lasch practice fields.”