Drew Allar knew he was in trouble during his official recruiting visit to Penn State the summer before his senior year of high school.
He played in a pickup basketball game with other recruits against a team stacked withTyler Warren – his host – , Nick Dawkins and Olu Fashanu.
“I remember him (Warren) killing every recruit on the basketball court,” Allar recalled. “There were a couple times when he just dunked on guys. I didn’t know he was a lefty. It was different going against that.
“It was Tyler, Olu and Dawk versus a bunch of recruits. We couldn’t get a rebound. It wasn’t really fair.”
Penn State opponents might be feeling the same way against Warren this season.
Maryland (1-7 Big Ten, 4-7) will be the latest team to try to slow him when it faces No. 4 Penn State (7-1, 10-1) Saturday at 3:30 (TV-BTN) at Beaver Stadium.
The 6-6, 261-pound Warren has 75 receptions for 910 yards and five touchdowns, four rushing TDs and a passing TD. He has lined up at several positions, including quarterback and center.
He’s tied for the Big Ten season record for catches by a tight end with Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum, who had 75 in 2007. He needs 73 yards to break Beckum’s season record for receiving yards by a tight end, 982 in 2007.
A few weeks ago, Warren spoke to the team and the coaches on a Friday night and told them how he wondered as a freshman if he would ever play for the Nittany Lions. It sounds ludicrous now.
“Tyler’s one of my best friends,” center Nick Dawkins said. “We went through that patch together our freshman year and Olu as well. We all had a conversation in my apartment: Are we going to be able to play here? Are we going to be able to do what’s asked of us? Are we going to be able to be guys here?
“We all talked about it. We always felt that way. Some freshmen come in and play right away. A lot of us had to climb the ladder. It’s no surprise that Tyler was able to develop and be the caliber of player he is now given all the intangibles, ability and mindset he has.”
After sharing time with Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson, who are in the NFL, Warren became Penn State’s No. 1 tight end this year.
He was productive in the first five games before emerging on the national stage when he caught 17 passes for 224 yards in an overtime win over USC in Los Angeles. On one play, he lined up at center, snapped the ball and outfought a defender in the end zone to catch a touchdown pass.
In the last three games against Washington, Purdue and Minnesota, he made 24 catches for 304 yards and one TD and rushed for three scores.
In the Lions’ 26-25 win against the Gophers last week, Warren showed off his priorities. He caught a pass from Allar in the final minute on fourth-and-1 and fell to the ground at the 3-yard line rather than score.
“He’s team first,” Allar said. “He’s gonna do whatever it takes to win the game. He could have easily walked in the end zone. He was reminding me before we even ran the play, ‘Hey, don’t throw me into the end zone on this one. If I get the ball, I’m going to catch it and get down.’
“That’s just his situational awareness and being so well-prepared for those moments. And being unselfish.”
Warren is near the end of what will likely be the most prolific career by a Penn State tight end. He has 124 receptions for 1,516 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. He owns the school record for receiving yards by a tight end and needs six catches and one TD to hold the records in those categories.
He ranks among the best tight ends the Lions have ever had, along with Ted Kwalick, Kyle Brady, Mike Gesicki and Pat Freiermuth.
“I didn’t know too much about Penn State until I got here,” Warren said. “I knew Pat, Brenton and all of them. I knew about Mike Gesicki, but learning about Kyle Brady and some of the older guys it was cool to see the legacy that Penn State tight ends have always had.
“Learning about them, I’ve been able to appreciate what it means to play tight end at Penn State.”
Warren is a finalist for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s best tight end, and for the Paul Hornung Award, which goes to the nation’s most versatile player. He’s a favorite to become the first Penn State tight end since Brady in 1994 to be a first-team All-American.
It’s hard to believe that Warren once wondered if he would ever play for the Lions.
“There have been times that I’ve questioned myself,” Allar said. “But listening to a guy like Tyler get up and say he had doubts, too, it resonated with me. I know it resonated with everybody in the room, even the staff.
“It was a really good message. It was really cool to hear that from a guy like him.”
