Here’s a look at where Penn State football stands at tight end heading into 2022

Penn State football has had several talented tight ends come through its program in recent years and that trend will continue in 2022. The position room has plenty of depth but didn’t see a large target share in the 2021 season, raising questions about what the group’s usage will look like moving forward under offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

Let’s take a look at where the position stands heading into the 2022 season.

Projected starter: Redshirt junior Brenton Strange

Last year, we projected Theo Johnson to overtake Strange, but the veteran held on to keep the job. This year, we’ll stick with the incumbent because of his experience and what he added to the Nittany Lions last season.

Strange is entering his fourth year with the program and has become more of an all-around tight end in his time in Happy Valley. The 6-foot-3, 248-pound redshirt junior doesn’t have elite size but he puts what he has to good use.

He was an improved blocker in the 2021 season, showing the willingness to mix it up in the running game and to chip pass rushers in the passing game. It helps that he was flexed out more often, going in motion on occasion to set him up for success when initiating contact with defenders.

That type of H-Back role — where he’s in the backfield, the slot and attached as a true tight end — should continue to be beneficial for Strange as a blocker. It should also help him as a pass catcher, where he can use his speed to create advantages.

Strange is a great athlete who has more suddenness than you’d expect for someone with his build. He can create separation in the middle of the field, and has the strength to overpower safeties and slot corners when he’s flexed out in the slot. He has an opportunity to become more of a security blanket for redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford, who lost his primary one when Jahan Dotson left for the NFL. Strange has the build and catching ability to make Clifford feel comfortable throwing to him in a pinch and that should get him more targets closer to the line of scrimmage.

But while Strange is the likely starter, it’s no guarantee he gets the most reps thanks to the high level of competition behind him.

Key backups: Sophomores Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren

That’s because the two players behind Strange on the depth chart saw plenty of their own playing time in 2021. Johnson and Warren provide different skill sets but both have the talent to become the team’s starter by the end of the year.

Johnson is the most physically gifted in the group and has the most upside long term. He’s listed at 6-foot-6 and weighs 254 pounds to go with elite athleticism and length. He’s first and foremost a pass catcher thanks to those skills, and is a good option for Penn State to use on the outside. Most tight ends flex out to the slot, but Johnson has the ability to play as a legitimate wide receiver. He can use his size and length to beat cornerbacks for the ball when it’s in the air, but can also use his speed to beat them before the ball even goes up.

In the slot, he uses that size to bowl over slot cornerbacks and to beat linebackers and safeties. The biggest question for Johnson is his ability as a blocker, where he looked improved in 2021. He’s more willing than skilled at this point, but has the frame to be a force as a run blocker. His usage should increase from his 19 catches last year, with a chance to be one of the best weapons the Nittany Lion offense has to offer this season. Even if he doesn’t improve as a blocker, his pass catching ability will make him a threat whenever he’s on the field.

Warren, meanwhile, is a much more advanced blocker. He’s a brute force in the running game but has better technique than the other tight ends on the roster. He gets downhill and is strong enough to stop linebackers to create an edge for Penn State’s running backs. He’ll chip pass rushers as well, thanks to his physicality.

The sophomore’s strength translates to the passing game where he wins with size and strength more than his route running. Warren is a converted quarterback out of high school but has taken to his new position quickly. He should also see more usage with all of Dotson’s targets now available, but there will be added opportunities for him to get the ball thanks to his old position.

Warren was used as a quarterback on certain trick plays last year — especially in short yardage situations — and it would be a surprise if he doesn’t get some of those reps again this year. Of course, that could go away if his role at tight end becomes so large that he stays there in those situations rather than shifting into the backfield.

Either way, Warren and Johnson should do much more damage this year than most backup tight ends do at the college level.

Freshman to watch: Jerry Cross

Penn State brought in a freshman tight end in January and he has a chance to continue the team’s success at the position down the road. Cross has all of the measurables you would want at tight end. He’s 6-foot-5 and weighs 250 pounds with the wingspan to have an elite catch radius.

His main area of growth is an unsurprising one for freshmen at the position. Cross played wide receiver in high school, so he didn’t do much blocking before arriving at Penn State. He’ll need to add strength so he can hold up when helping out in the run game. The benefit of how much he played wide receiver is obvious. He steps in as a legitimate receiving threat at tight end and has enormous upside at it in the long run.

He’ll need the added strength to help out there too, but Cross has more than enough upside to be a major contributor at Penn State long term.