Penn State spring progress report: What did we learn about the tight ends?

Penn State lost a tight end to the 2024 NFL Draft when Theo Johnson elected to move on. The good news for the Nittany Lions and tight ends coach Ty Howle, however, is that they return a draft-caliber talent in Tyler Warren. He received a well-deserved vets day off for the Blue-White game. But, the Virginia native showcased his skills plenty throughout the rest of spring practice and is ready to be the leader of this room in 2024. 

“Ty’s a very well-rounded player, and specifically tight end, in the run game, in the pass game on special teams, he’s played a little Wildcat quarterback in the past, he’s done a ton of different things. So really, it’s just continuing to improve all those things,” Lions coach James Franklin said in April.

With spring practice over, Blue-White Illustrated is taking a closer look at each position group. We continue today with a review of the things we learned about and questions that remain for the tight ends.

What did we learn about the Penn State tight ends during spring?

This may sound a little bit silly but it’s also true: The best thing for the Penn State tight ends this spring was that we heard next to nothing about them. It feels like only negative things, like an injury or transfer, could slow the progress being made in Howle’s room. It’s also a fact, and we’ll cover it below, that perhaps we could have heard more about the development taking place behind Warren. But, there’s plenty of time for that to take place and there was some buzz.

The continued strong production in the tight end room during the Franklin era is probably one of the more underrated things about Penn State during the last 11 years. It hums along in a no-stress, high-output environment that routinely leads players to take the step from college to the NFL seamlessly. Johnson is the latest example of that. And, after a good spring, Warren is next in line to be a leader during his final college season before making a similar jump at this time next year.

What questions remain about the Nittany Lions tight ends?

The questions here do not relate to Warren, of course. He is a proven commodity who knows how to thrive in the running game as a blocker and find the end zone in the passing game as a receiver. The thing we did not learn, this spring, however, and it’s why it’s the big question left, is this: Who fills in the spots on the depth chart behind him?

By seniority, redshirt junior Khalil Dinkins is the first man up. He showed some nice things during open practices. He also has had some fine game reps. But, one might have expected to hear more about him this spring, and by and large, we did not.

Penn State has usually used two or three tight ends often in each game. It’s unclear if Kotelnicki will do so, too, but he figures to. Dinkins will have a role. But the fate of the room beyond Warren might just depend on redshirt freshman Andrew Rappleyea. He has all the talent in the world, as evidenced by his 30-yard touchdown catch in the Blue-White game. But, like with the receivers, he must show his skills more consistently to find a bigger role in the offense. He can change this offense by himself, but he has to earn it. Redshirt freshman Joey Schlaffer and veteran Jerry Cross want to earn better depth chart spots, too. And, freshman early enrollee Luke Reynolds may find his way to the field, too, though playing in up to four games while still redshirting feels likely.

It leads the big question left to be a simple one: Who will make the biggest strides this summer to earn a bigger role this fall?

The post Penn State spring progress report: What did we learn about the tight ends? appeared first on On3.