Penn State football spring positional outlook: Tight end
Penn State football spring positional outlook: Quarterback
Spring positional outlook: Running back
Penn State football spring positional outlook: Receiver
Penn State‘s tight ends struggled to find consistency last season.
Limited to 44 combined receptions among three scholarship tight ends with returning experience, the impact varied from game to game, and player to player.
Will the dynamic change ahead of the 2022 season?
Here’s a look at what Penn State tight ends coach Ty Howle and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will be working with at the position this spring:
Penn State tight ends scholarship roster
Brenton Strange – 4th year
Theo Johnson – 3rd year
Tyler Warren – 3rd year
Khalil Dinkins – 2nd year
Jerry Cross – 1st year
Penn State tight ends spring outlook
There is no mystery regarding what Penn State head coach James Franklin envisions for his tight ends.
Between a rotating cast of offensive coordinators, the position is counted upon to block effectively in the run and the pass, and act as a legitimate receiving threat with the ability to change how opponents defend the Nittany Lions.
“I think that’s when we’re at our best is when our tight ends are involved,” Franklin said last season. “They have to account for them in the running game, they have to account for them in the passing game. They’re physical guys as well. “
In Strange, Johnson, and Warren, Penn State believes it has those pieces.
“You look at all three of these guys, I think they could all have the ability to make plays and be complete tight ends, which are hard to find nowadays,” Franklin continued. “So I think that’s when we’re our best on offense.”
Strange and Johnson finished as the fourth- and fifth-leading receivers for the Nittany Lions. Strange led the way with 20 catches for 225 yards and three scores. Johnson finished just behind, notching 19 receptions for 213 yards and a score. Warren complemented the pair in his second year on campus with five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
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All three return for the program’s spring practices, the question being whether any can emerge to become the type of primary offensive receiving threat of a Pat Freiermuth or Mike Gesicki from recent seasons past.
The unknowns
Penn State’s possibilities at the position won’t be limited to just its returning tight ends with experience.
Rather, Khalil Dinkins is into his second year in the program after spending the 2021 campaign as a redshirt. He did appear in the Rutgers game, but for only one snap.
Meanwhile, Jerry Cross entered into the equation this January as a Class of 2022 early enrollee. A four-star prospect, Cross was the On3 Consensus No. 12-ranked tight end in the country.
Walk-on notes
Penn State has a handful of walk-on tight ends at its disposal this spring.
Among the most experienced, Grayson Kline returns for his fifth year.
In addition to Kline, Penn State also has two redshirt freshmen at the position. Benjamin Knapp and Evan Clark both spent their first years in the program as redshirts.
