Mitchell Tinsley grabs Senior Bowl attention ahead of debut Penn State season

Jim Nagy, the Executive Director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl, wasn’t looking for Mitchell Tinsley. He didn’t need to be to take notice, though.

Tasked with evaluating every rising senior in the country for the annual showcase game, Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe and his star receiver, Jarreth Sterns, were the standouts under consideration for the longtime scout and his team last fall. But as the film came through each week, eventually leading to a Senior Bowl invite for Zappe, Nagy couldn’t help but see the plays Tinsley was making every week.

He was impressed by what he saw.

“When you’re not looking for a guy on tape and he keeps popping, there’s usually something to him,” Nagy said. “We looked him up and he was a guy for next year, so we kind of filed that away.”

Flipping into the next cycle in February following this year’s Senior Bowl, Tinsley was already on the list of players to watch. But in revisiting the player he’d seen catching Zappe’s record-setting passes, the quarterback now a fourth-round NFL Draft pick of the New England Patriots, Nagy again took note.

So much so, that he took the time to Tweet about Tinsley in his “Transfer Tuesday” series this week.

From the Tweet:

“Ex-WKU WR Mitchell Tinsley got our attention when studying Patriots’ QB Bailey Zappe and he was smart portal get for Penn State. @MitchTinsley15 balled-out last year vs Big Ten teams Michigan State & Indiana and Zappe raves about him.”

Reeling in 87 receptions for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns from Zappe last season, it’s easy to understand why.

Earning second-team All-Conference USA notice in the process, it built on a 2020 debut campaign with the Hilltoppers. Then making 43 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns, Tinsley showed the characteristics that would eventually turn into Zappe’s full-throated commendation to Nagy.

“(Zappe) said he’s all about football,” Nagy recalled. “To me, in any position, that is big. But it’s especially so at wide receiver when you get a guy that is all about football and he loves to work. He just commented on what type of work ethic he’s got.”

Beyond just work ethic, Zappe also relayed to Nagy what Tinsley brought to the field for Western Kentucky. 

Standout traits

The top attribute? Reliability. 

“You watch the tape, it’s pretty obvious that Bailey trusts him because there are plays where there’s not a whole lot of separation, down the field, and Bailey’s still putting the ball up to him,” Nagy said. “The guy’s got natural hands… this guy can go get it. Bailey trusted him and said a lot about the guy from a football makeup perspective that you love hearing about a wideout.”

Praising Tinsley’s consistency and strength as a “hands catcher,” Nagy added that Penn State would benefit from Tinsley’s presence in a variety of ways. Bringing both reliability and a dose of highlight-reel playmaking to the table, Tinsley will boost the Nittany Lions’ receiving room.

“It was a great pickup by Penn State. Give all credit to Andy Frank and their personnel department there that found him,” Nagy said. “But what probably made the evaluation a lot easier for them was that… he averaged over 200 yards in those two Big Ten games (against Indiana and Michigan State). You’re watching him play against the same competition that you play; that’s about as apples-to-apples as you can get. 

“Just from a savvy standpoint and consistency, the guy’s gonna get on the field and help Penn State. I think Mitchell’s gonna step right in there and do good things for Penn State.”