Penn State's James Franklin Makes Recruiting Pitch to Pennsylvania's No. 1 Player

The Nittany Lions coach positions Tyler Warren's success as a pitch to one of the nation's top tight ends.

Penn State coach James Franklin shakes hands with the fans upon team arrival prior to the game against the Washington Huskies at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

College football recruiting never stops, and neither does Penn State coach James Franklin. Given an opportunity to pitch one of the nation's top players Monday, the Nittany Lions coach ran with it.

At his weekly press conference, Franklin was asked about tight ends coach Ty Howle, who has guided a strong group of NFL tight ends, including Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson and 2025 NFL Draft pick Tyler Warren. Franklin has pitched Warren as a Heisman Trophy candidate and credited Howle for nurturing his development. But Franklin didn't stop there.

"If you're a great tight end in the country, and specifically in the state of Pennsylvania, I don't know how you couldn't come here," Franklin said. "Like, there's just too much history, there's too much data, and there's too many things saying you don't need to go anywhere else. You can stay at home and get everything you want in terms of your college career and also setting you up for your future.

"I really appreciate you asking that question."

Warren certainly has become the centerpiece of Penn State's offense this season. The tight end leads the team, and ranks third in the Big Ten, with 67 receptions (Penn State's receivers have a combined 73 catches). Warren also leads the team in scoring (nine touchdowns), is the fourth-leading rusher and averages nearly 100 all-purpose yards per game.

So of course Franklin appreciated the question, because it gave him an opportunity to speak directly to Andrew Olesh, a 4-star tight end at Pennsylvania's Southern Lehigh High School and the state's top-ranked player, according to the 247Sports Composite. Olesh, the No. 3 tight end nationally, is committed to Michigan but recently has attended games across the country. He was at the Penn State-Ohio State game on Nov. 2 and the Oregon-Illinois game in Eugene on Oct. 26.

Since college football's early signing window opens Dec. 4, Franklin and a host of college coaches nationally are making their last attempts to get Olesh to flip (or remain with the Wolverines, in Michigan's case). Thus, Franklin tailored his answer to a question about Howle and the team's tight ends into a vision for the future.

"I don't think it's talked about enough," Franklin said, referencing Howle's five seasons as Penn State's tight ends coach. "There's no school in the country, there's no program in the country, that is doing what we're doing with tight ends now and really over the last ten years. Ty Howle has come into that position as a Penn State letterman and I think has taken it to a whole other level. We're recruiting the best tight ends in the country. We're developing the best tight ends in the country. It's a competitive room. You've got to embrace that.

"Then you just look at what's happening after they get done playing at Penn State. They're all getting their degrees, and they're all getting drafted, and the majority of them are getting drafted very high.
Then you look at the Tyler Warren situation. Tyler Warren had a pretty high draft grade last year, came back, and I think it's been a win-win. I think he's going to be the first tight end drafted, is having a great year, is having a ton of fun with his teammates, and that's what you want, right? You want it to be a great situation for everybody."

Penn State visits Minnesota on Saturday for its final road game of the regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Top 100 Michigan TE commit Andrew Olesh (@a_olesh8) with a great catch for 30 yards #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/SlCNCz86Sw

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) September 14, 2024

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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.