Penn State Is Loving Andy Kotelnicki's Offense — Particularly Tyler Warren

Warren, Penn State's gifted tight end, reveled in an "aggressive" offensive gameplan that included plenty of sleight-of-hand against USC.

Penn State's Tyler Warren (44) celebrates with teammates Anthony Donkoh (68) and Dvon J-Thomas (91) after the Nittany Lions' overtime win over USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LOS ANGELES | Penn State has practiced the play, the one with Tyler Warren both snapping the ball and catching a pass, more than you'd think. Recently, the Nittany Lions' scout-team defense sniffed out and shut down the play, prompting offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to make some subtle changes. He removed a few motions, for instance, but retained the core concept: Let Warren do everything.

And that's how the most entertaining tight end in college football found himself starting and finishing the most entertaining play of Penn State's undefeated season, one that launched a comeback victory and (who knows?) maybe a boutique Heisman Trophy campaign. Warren's 32-yard touchdown catch from Drew Allar (via a throwback from quarterback Beau Pribula) was the lightning strike of Penn State's 33-30 overtime victory at USC on Saturday.

It didn't give Penn State a lead, nor did it prevent USC from breaking a tie in the fourth quarter. But the play most certainly revved the engine of the team's rally from a 14-point halftime deficit. Moreover, it underscored just how wholesale different Penn State's big-game offense is this season over last under Kotelnicki, the team's first-year coordinator.

"One of our keys this week was playing to win and not being conservative," Warren said after the game. "And [Kotelnicki] told us, as soon as we crossed the 50 and were on the left side of the field, we’re going to call that. We knew he wasn’t lying and were prepared to do it. And we practiced it a bunch of times, so we heard the call and we just executed the play and it worked."

Penn State brought quite a show to USC for its first Big Ten game in California. Kotelnicki opened the first scripted drive with a lavish set of motions, formations and Warren deployment, which got the tight end a touchdown catch. Only that one was waved off by pass interference, so Kotelnicki reached deeper into his Warren playbook on the first drive of the third quarter.

The Nittany Lions (6-0) needed a spark after settling for two Ryan Barker field goals on drives inside the USC 20-yard line in the first half. Kotelnicki called a quick series of passes, got the Nittany Lions into their tempo pace and then unleashed Warren at the USC 45-yard line. The play involved Warren snapping from the left side of the formation (all the linemen were to his right) to Pribula, who flipped back to Allar lined in a bunch set for protection.

Warren simply released on a go route, causing a moment of defensive confusion upon which Penn State capitalized. Warren outleaped single coverage, wrestling the ball from the defender for the touchdown. Yet for Warren, the more important part was snapping the ball.

"A good amount," Warren said when asked how much he practices snaps as a tight end. "It was a play we had in and we’ve run it a few times. I was looking between my legs. I wasn’t going to make it any harder than it needed to be, so I was just making sure I got it back to Beau, and they did the rest."

Double pass TD for @PennStateFball to start the second half! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/54lph5ddUw

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2024

Warren, whose 17-catch game tied an FBS record among tight ends, is the creative piece of Penn State's offense, but the chess player is Kotelnicki, who loves scheming around him. Kotelnicki has asked Warren to go far beyond the bounds of traditional tight-end play. Warren threw a pass, had a carry and caught a shovel pass from Allar. He also ran some of the best routes on the field, consistently finding ways to get open, and hurt USC after catching the ball.

His numbers were breathtaking. Penn State targeted Warren 20 times. He caught 17 of those passes for 224 yards, gaining 151 of them after the catch. Penn State receiver Julian Fleming, who played with some superb offensive players at Ohio State, recognized whom he's playing alongside.

"Ty Warren is Ty Warren," Fleming said. "Right now, he’s playing at a very, very different level, and I think he’s playing best ball I’ve seen in a long time from somebody."

That made things frustrating for USC coach Lincoln Riley, who grew weary of seeing Warren open in the second half.

"Listen, he’s a great player," Riley said. "I mean, it’s a guy that we knew was going to be a challenge coming in. We had a couple coverage busts on him, and I think that’s the thing we’ll look back on. When you play a really good player like that, you just want to make them earn it, right? If they make a play, you want to be like, ‘Hey, we were in coverage, we were in the right spot.’ Listen, the guy made a play. But we gave them a couple that we didn’t make them earn it."

Clearly, Kotelnicki loves calling plays for Warren, largely for that reason. He makes opposing coaches nuts. But it doesn't stop there. The offensive coordinator has infused an electric mix of confidence and creativity into Penn State's offense, something the group didn't demonstrate in big games last season. Two weeks ago, Penn State running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider said that Kotelnicki isn't "uptight," which his players both appreciate and respond to.

"You don't feel like it's 4th-and-inches every time you walk into a meeting," Seider said of Kotelnicki. "... It's all about confidence. Everybody feels that now."

Kotelnicki and Warren are grooving, which makes what they're planning for the season's second half so intriguing to watch. Penn State coach James Franklin might have offered a preview after the win over USC.

"I’ve been talking about him being the best tight end in college football," Franklin said. "But the reality is, he’s now part of a conversation of one of the best players in all of college football."

More Penn State Football

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The Penn State football report card: USC edition

What we learned from Penn State's victory over the Trojans

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.