College Football’s Halberd: Penn State TE Tyler Warren

The Nittany Lions’ dizzying utilization of this fringe Heisman candidate has been tough to track…but we gave it a shot.

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Contrary to the CVS receipt of search engines results that pop up when you enter the phrase ‘Tyler Warren’ and ‘Swiss Army Knife, we’re choosing a different inanimate-object comparison for Penn State’s do-everything tight end because, according to Pennsylvania law, Swiss Army Knives aren’t considered weapons…and, well, Tyler Warren is a damn weapon.

Therefore, to us, the 2024 Mackey Award lock and former high school quarterback (a little known/seldom shared factoid from Warren’s bio) is more like a medevial  Halberd – the most versatile hand-to-hand combat weapon in history according to a Jan. 16, 2011 Escapist Magazine forum post by Brawndo.

Here’s a pic.

Gnarly, huh?

Spear point. Axe head. 6-foot shaft. Hook or Torn on the backend of the Axe blade. Base that doubles as a Bludgeon. This sucker can kill you in a multitude of ways…

…just like Tyler Warren.

As I and others here at FTB discussed all offseason, Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was going to do anything and everything possible to weaponize Warren’s unique skillset this season. And, sure enough, that’s come to fruition. What couldn’t have been predicted, though, was just HOW Kotelnicki planned to brandish Warren and the complicated layers involved with his diverse usage. So, with the Game of The Century of The Year of The Week looming on the horizon, we figured we’d spend today analyzing and breaking down the different ways Warren has been involved in the gameplan – from traditional, non-traditional, and mad-scientist manners.

DIRTY WORK & CHEAP TOUCHES

Let’s start with the boring stuff. Blocking.

It’s not incredibly rare to find a tight end that is an elite receiver, but the ones who can act as a 6th OL really separate themselves from the pack. Just think…if a TE can’t offer anything in the run game, why wouldn’t you just put another receiver on the field? Thankfully for Kotelnicki, that’s a question that neither needs to be asked nor answered because of Warren.

Check out Warren acting as the “pinner” on this “Pin & Pull” scheme below. His job is to seal the edge, providing a wide-enough lane for the pulling offensive linemen to reach the point of attack as lead blockers without interference or obstacles. If Warren whiffs, this entire concept blows up (in a bad way).

Next, here’s an old-fashioned “gap down” block. PSU is running a “Duo” scheme here. Essentially, everyone on the playside (left) is responsible for the gap to their right. You CANNOT allow the defender to cross your face. Warren executes this block perfectly and takes the playside LB for a ride into his own end zone. Bully ball.

Now, the fun stuff…or “funner” stuff, at least.

To record the eye-popping numbers Warren has this season, there most definitely has been an emphasis on how to manufacture touches for him…including “cheap” touches that fall outside the structure of the base offense.

For example, Warren’s Wildcat package.

Midway through the season, the philosophy behind this package has been simple(ish): create a downhill gap scheme run with Warren and have some sort of “relief” option if it is taken away. We’ve seen two variations of this concept. First, this Counter RPO:

12 personnel. Warren at QB, tight end Khalil Dinkins in one sidecar position, Kaytron Allen occupying the other. To ensure this is a legit formation, Penn State’s two WRs are on the line of scrimmage while Drew Allar morphs into the No. 3 WR in the slot, post-shift. At the snap, Allen runs a swing to the wide side of the field to provide a “relief” in case the DB assigned to cover Allen (on this play, No. 23) fits the run.

If he does, toss it. If he doesn’t, run the GF Counter.

Here’s the same concept but with Warren choosing the “relief” option:

Here’s how Warren Wildcat Counter RPO looks on paper:

Now, the second Warren Wildcat concept: Power Read. Just like the Counter RPO play, Warren has to read a defender and make a ‘pull-give’ choice.

PULL if the unblocked defensive end (Illinois No. 9) feathers or stays…seen here:

GIVE if the unblocked defender (Illinois No. 3) crashes…seen here:

While this might seem complex, it’s simple at its core. Get your 6-foot-6, 260-pound baller going downhill at the snap, while allowing him to use his athleticism and football IQ to hedge any execution deficiencies.

Now, say Kotelnicki wants to get Warren a gap scheme run without putting him at QB…that’s where “Power Shovel” comes in. This is the same exact play as the Power Read you just clicked on above, but the power runner receives the ball in the form of a shovel pass. This is what it looks like inside of a playbook:

And this is what it looks like on the field:

Again, safe, cheap touches for your star. Simple stuff. Last example of a manufactured/forced cheap touch to Warren – Y-Throwback Screen.

TRADITIONAL TARGETS

Kotelnicki has also created plenty of traditional touch opportunities for Warren in the seams and up the sideline this season.

Here’s a popular FIB concept: Double Post Wheel. This route concept floods the short side of the field with the posts clearing out the corner and safety, thus putting the flat defender in conflict with the swing from the RB and the TE wheel.

Here’s a perfect example from the BGSU Game:

Here’s another variation off a fake-triple-option look. Same idea: stress the flat defender and get Warren up the sideline behind him.

Annnnnd once more, Warren running a “bluff wheel” off of swing screen action. Essentially, Warren sells like he’s blocking for the first few steps then takes it to the wheel route.

Get the idea? I sure hope so, because I don’t want you to feel like you’re in a Sunday morning film session (they’re not as fun as you might think), so I won’t cram any more sideline clips down your throat. We’ll spend the remainder of our time together discussing the seams. If you want to read about the main way they’ve been able to get Warren involved in between the hashes, watch this video from week one about the Four Verticals concept Penn State runs off power read action. Other than that, Kotelnicki loves to use unbalanced formations to open up the middle of the field. Here’s an example from the Bowling Green home opener:

PSU begins in a 4×0 formation with #2 Liam Clifford ineligible as he is covered up by the #1 wide out. Bowling Green checks into their quads defense before 85-Luke Reynolds motions across and brings a safety over with him, leaving a massive void thanks to the wide splits of the WRs and the whole field being utilized. Warren has plenty of space right up the hash.

POSTSCRIPT: TYLER WARREN THE PUNTER?

Thus far, Tyler Warren has lined up as a tradition in-line Tight end, Quarterback in Shotgun, Quarterback Under Center, Tailback, H-Back, Wing Back, and famously as a Center, too.

But did you know Warren was a flinch anyway from registering a snap as a punter, too?

BEHOLD! 4^th and 3!

Sorry, the sideline angle is cut terribly. That’s not us doing that. But, from the end zone, you can clearly see Allar give a hard count that USC almost falls for. Then, Allar checks to the sideline. The play is changed (or called, technically, since there was probably no ‘play’ on the hard count attempt. Warren shifts to ‘quick kick’ depth. Allar and Allen align as personal protectors on the punt while the WRs stay put as gunners.

99.9999999999% sure this was gonna be a punt.