It’s no secret that replacing Tyler Warren in Penn State’s offense will prove to be a point of emphasis in 2025 for the Nittany Lions. With the reigning John Mackey Award winner off to the Indianapolis Colts, James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki are focused on harnessing the tight end room through the continued development at the position.

Recent seasons have seen a carousel at the tight end position for Penn State, from Pat Freiermuth to Brenton Strange to Theo Johnson. However, Warren’s rise to college football superstardom in 2024 threw the program into the spotlight as the country’s best program at developing the position. Now, the Nittany Lions need to navigate the post-Warren era while reforming their identity at the position and on offense as a whole.

Franklin first recognized redshirt senior Khalil Dinkins as an under-appreciated force at tight end with Warren gone, citing his dramatic improvement in all areas of his game since he stepped on campus. Franklin commended Dinkins’ frame and touchdown-to-catch ratio last season as a valuable asset in the current state of the tight end position. Dinkins appeared in 15 games and reeled in 14 receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore Luke Reynolds also saw a lot of time backing up Warren in 2024, appearing in all 16 games and starting four. He racked up nine receptions for 111 yards and a score while aiding in the blocking game.

Redshirt sophomore Andrew Rappleyea missed most of last season with a long-term injury, but is back and ready to make an impact on the team despite losing a lot of time to solidify himself in the rotation.

“Rapp is obviously hungry as heck to get back out there,” Franklin said. “I think we’re going to be in a position like we have been the last couple of years, to have three tight ends that we feel like we can win with.”

Kotelnicki expanded upon Franklin’s comments on Rappleyea, citing that the coaching staff needed to slow down the redshirt sophomore due to his rapid desire to get back into the swing of things after his injury.

“Sometimes, when people come back from injuries, and there’s no right or wrong way as long as everyone’s attacking it, is to do everything to kind of better themselves,” Kotelnicki said. “I don’t mean this in a negative, in the sense of other people and how they’ve approached it, but more like we have to pull Rapp back. We have to kind of grab him and say ‘okay, you don’t need to take this rep dude.'”

The speed at which Rappleyea wanted to resume his development showcases how wide-open the starting spot at tight end really is, putting Franklin and Kotelnicki in a position where they have to evaluate all possible options to choose Penn State’s new starter.

Franklin emphasized the importance of Dinkins, Reynolds, and Rappleyea all proving themselves as “true tight ends”, which puts being a receiving threat at the forefront of the position. He said that tight ends who don’t fit that description slow the offense down completely.

“Ty Howle and our staff have done a really good job of identifying, recruiting, and developing true tight ends that are critical to what we want to do on offense,” Franklin said. “Those guys will continue to play a major part in our offense.”

Despite Franklin’s reinforcement of that notion, it’s possible that the Penn State offense distances itself from the tight end position – not solely due to Warren’s departure, but to the sudden and immense depth the Nittany Lions gained at wide receiver in the transfer portal.

With an offense now laid out with Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Drew Allar at the helm of it all, it won’t be surprising to see the tight end take a step back in Penn State’s offensive makeup in 2025 if Franklin and Kotelnicki don’t find an ultra-clear successor to Warren.

Franklin said that the offense as a whole is always competing with each other to see which position group will solidify themselves as the best unit, which will help carve Penn State’s new offensive identity in the process, slowly paving the way towards normalcy and prosperity without Warren.