At halftime of Saturday's Penn State-Purdue game, the CBS broadcast crew spent substantial time comparing Penn State's Tyler Warren with Colorado's Travis Hunter. The terms revolved around team value and versatility. The crew said Warren was at least as ...

“100%,” quarterback Drew Allar said, asked if Warren should be in the Heisman mix. “I don’t think you’ve seen a tight end have an overall impact on an offense like he has this year. It’s a special year he’s having. I would absolutely endorse Tyler Warren for Heisman in 2024.”

The 6-6, 261-pound Warren averaged 17.3 yards every time he touched the ball as Penn State (6-1 Big Ten, 9-1) moved another step closer to a College Football Playoff berth with its 11th consecutive victory over the Boilermakers (0-7, 1-9).

Sure, he mainly plays tight end. But Penn State’s Swiss Army knife has quickly established himself as one of college football’s most versatile — and electric — players.

Penn State became the latest team to blow out Purdue this season on Saturday. The No. 4 Nittany Lions throttled the Boilermakers 49-10 at Ross-Ade Stadium. The win improved the visitors to 9-1 while head coach Ryan Walters’ team fell to 1-9.

Bear in mind that Warren wasn’t even clearly Penn State’s No. 1 TE a year ago - Theo Johnson, now with the New York Giants, was considered more NFL combine-ready, as had as many catches and touchdowns last season as Warren did.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns to lead the No. 4 Nittany Lions to a 49-10 rout of Purdue on Saturday.

OK, Tyler William Warren did not bang the Purdue marching band’s Big Bass Drum at halftime of fourth-ranked Penn State’s 49-10 win over the Boilermakers here in Ross-Ade Stadium. But he could have. Really.

Warren is a fascinating player. He's the latest of the Penn State hyper athletes to come out of Happy Valley. What he provides teams at the next level is a prototype of a true dual-threat tight end that can be a versatile weapon down the field and block in the running game.