Assessing the Penn State tight end room halfway through spring practice
Penn State football wants better production out of a few position groups in 2022.
The tight ends are near the top of the list.
A position room that head coach James Franklin felt could be among the best in college football last summer was anything but. However, improvements could be spotted at times late in the 2021 slate. Now, half of spring practice is in the books where even more progress can be made.
BWI is looking at each position group as spring practice roles along. Today we offer a closer look at the tight ends.
Who’s in the mix?
The good news for Penn State is that both the position coach and his top players are all back.
Ty Howle enters his second season as the leader of the tight ends. Returning, too, are a trio who saw plenty og game action in Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, and Tyler Warren. Khalil Dinkins, then, enters his second season in blue and white, while Jerry Cross enrolled at Penn State back in January.
A pair of walk-ons, Benjamin Knapp and Evan Clark, round out Howle’s room.
Checking in on the progress of Penn State tight ends so far this spring
There is no question that the talent is there for this group to be a bigger, and more productive, part of the offense in 2022. How Howle, Yurcich, and co., make that happen is a top Penn State storyline of not just the spring but also the year ahead in general. Even modest gains as pass catchers and blockers will go a long way toward ensuring the offense functions in a better way compared to how did a year ago.
Little has been said about this group so far this spring. But, after all of the hype it received last year before producing middling results, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The talent is there. Past recruiting rankings and some on-field splashes (three of Strange’s 20 catches went for touchdowns) says as much. Now, it’s all about consistency.
Finally, a quick note on Cross. He looks every bit 6-foot-5, 250 pounds he’s listed at. But, he missed some time late in his high school career and undoubtedly has some on-field learning and off-field growth in his future.
What remains to be seen from the tight ends?
There are both some statistical signs at the college level pointing in the right direction and plenty of prep accolades overall with this group. Now, it must translate those into more consistent on-field production. Penn State thriving on offense requires i. So, that is the next big step Howle’s group must take from spring to summer and summer to fall.
