Notre Dame has to have a plan to stop Penn State TE Tyler Warren, and there is one option they should consider most
The Penn State offense isn’t complicated. They are a run-heavy team led by running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. That duo has combined for 2,041 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns on the year. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is a mad scientist from a run game perspective, utilizing unbalanced, some nasty split, and a variety […]
The Penn State offense isn’t complicated. They are a run-heavy team led by running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. That duo has combined for 2,041 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns on the year. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is a mad scientist from a run game perspective, utilizing unbalanced, some nasty split, and a variety of runing plays.
When the Nittany Lions put the football in the air, you can bet quarterback Drew Allar will be looking the way of tight end Tyler Warren. No. 44 is a dynamic athlete at nearly 6-6 and 260 pounds. You will see Warren utilize him from a traditional tight end alignment, split out wide at receiver, and he will even run some wildcat at times.
Heading into the contest, Warren has hauled in 98 receptions for 1,158 yards and eight touchdowns. He has also rushed 24 times for 197 yards and another four scores. Notre Dame will have to be prepared for Warren, and have an in-depth plan for how to stop him. There are a few options they could implement to do so.
The first option is a little “good on good” action. With Benjamin Morrison out for the season, there is little question about who the best defensive player is for the Fighting Irish. Xavier Watts has arguably been the best safety in college football this season. While he has been asked to do a lot of things on the back end for the Notre Dame defense, could this be a game where defensive coordinator Al Golden asks Watts to do a lot of 1-on-1 matchups with Warren?
While there is a lot of merit to that plan, you really don’t want to reinvent your entire defensive game plan over one player. Watts also makes so many big plays working on zone coverage, where most of his interceptions happen. Leaving Watts to play his usual role could be best.
Perhaps the more likely scenario is a mixture of different players taking care of the matchup. Two players who would create an interesting plan are linebacker Jaiden Ausberry and safety Adon Shuler. We have seen Shuler in man coverage against tight ends during the course of the season, including against Georgia where the Irish gave up just two receptions for 18 yards against one of the deeper units in college football.
Ausberry could be the key in this matchup. At 6-2 and 216 pounds, the Louisiana native is an incredible blend of movement skills and instincts. Functioning mostly as a rover throughout the season, Notre Dame could potentially utilize Ausberry as a tight end eraser in their system.
Shuler could handle Warren more out wide, while Ausberry gets the challenge when he plays from a more condensed alignment. That way, the Irish could be hard to key on, while also utilizing the strengths of Shuler and Ausberry. In the end, the 2023 recruiting class could have the biggest impact on stopping Warren and advancing to the national championship.
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