Going into the 2024 season, Penn State knows Tyler Warren will be the best tight end on the roster. Some would even go so far as to say he’s the best tight end in the Big Ten. And while it remains to be seen whether that’s true or not, Warren is officially on the radar when it comes to the best college tight end in the country.

Warren was named to the nominee list for the 2024 John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top college football tight end. The award is given by the Nassau County Sports Commission and is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, who played for Syracuse from 1960 to 1962.

Warren is entering his fifth season at Penn State. Last year, Warren caught 34 passes for 422 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Warren was Penn State’s second-leading receiver in 2023 and is the team’s top receiver returning in 2024 (wide receiver KeAndre Lambert Smith was Penn State’s top receiver in 2023; Lambert-Smith transferred to Auburn).

Penn State has never had a Mackey Award winner since the award was first presented in 2000. The first recipient of the national award was Purdue’s Tim Stratton. Georgia’s Brock Bowers won each of the last two seasons, becoming the first two-time winner of the award and apparently the first to do so in consecutive seasons.

TJ Hockenson of Iowa was the Big Ten’s most recent Mackey Award winner, receiving the award in 2018.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on XFacebook and threads.