If there is one thing Illinois head coach Bret Bielema respects, it is how Penn State makes use of tight end Tyler Warren. Bielema saw firsthand just how versatile and valuable Warren is to Penn State’s offense under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
“Like number 44 I just love him,” Bielema said in his postgame press conference Saturday night when referring to Warren when discussing how Penn State uses some of their players in multiple ways. Warren played a key role in helping Penn State earn a 21-7 victory over Bielema’s Illini.
Penn State asked Warren to catch the football (four catches for 34 yards) and run the football out of a run-pass option package (13 yards and 1 touchdown) while taking snaps at the quarterback position. As a former quarterback, Warren looked comfortable handling those tasks
“One of the things I took from the league is when a guy has a lot of position flex which means he can do multiple things besides what he’s slatted into,” Bielema said.
Bielema spent three seasons in the NFL following his run as head coach at Arkansas, so he’s picked up a little more insight about players at the next level on top of his years as head coach at Wisconsin, Arkansas, and now Illinois. As far as Bielema is concerned, the NFL hype for Warren is legitimate.
“I just think the skillset of him just allows a lot of other things to happen.”
Warren and Penn State will host UCLA next weekend for another Big Ten matchup. Kickoff is set for a noon Eastern start time and Fox will bring its pregame show to Happy Valley for the game.
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