Penn State’s Theo Johnson had a strong game. Can the tight ends keep applying pressure?
Penn State tight end Theo Johnson had his best game of the season on Saturday.
The sophomore had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in the 45-17 victory over Minnesota. He wasn’t the only player at his position to get touches with head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich making a point to hit the tight ends with the receivers being bracketed in coverage.
“He played really well,” Franklin said of Johnson. “We expect that from him. I’m happy for him and he has that type of ability. I would say in general that there’s going to be weeks based on gameplanning and matchups that you may emphasize a certain position or certain guy. But really a lot of times, it just depends on how the defense plays out to where the ball goes.”
It’s been a long road for Johnson this season. The 6-foot-6 tight end missed two games with an undisclosed injury. After returning to the field, he made just two catches for 19 yards and had no touchdowns through four games played. Last season, Johnson had 19 receptions for 213 yards and a touchdown through 10 games.
Johnson called the situation “frustrating” as he attempted to return from injury.
“Sometimes you want to come back quicker than sometimes you’re able to,” Johnson said. “So, I think that was a little frustrating. But if you trust in the coaches and the process, things will come along the way that they’re supposed to.”
Johnson was joined by fellow sophomore tight end Tyler Warren in the end zone with 12 minutes left in the second quarter. Quarterback Sean Clifford found Warren on a 38-yard touchdown pass up the seams. Warren ran into the student section and back to his teammates with jubilation — giving high fives and getting taps on the helmet.
“It’s exciting,” Warren said. “I’m excited to get back to my teammates and give them some love. There were a lot of people doing a lot of things on every play and that makes things happen.”
It was Warren’s only catch of the game. Redshirt junior tight end Brenton Strange also had one catch for 5 yards.
As for Penn State’s passing attack as a whole, wide receivers Parker Washington and Mitch Tinsley found paydirt. Washington had seven receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Tinsley had four catches for 58 yards and a score.
In Tinsley’s touchdown reception in particular, he was left uncovered with the tight ends drawing in the linebackers and defensive backs. Asked after the game how the tight ends benefited his performance, his eyes widened, seemingly with joy.
“They definitely opened up things for sure,” Tinsley said. “When you have weapons like that, as far as tight ends and running backs, I feel like it all meshes together. It creates one happy offense that can create explosive plays and do damage to the defense.”
Prior to the beginning of the season, the trio of Strange, Johnson and Warren were thought to be among the deeper tight end groups in the country. It’s a confidence that Johnson has felt since he was a freshman when current Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth was on the team.
“We’ve always felt that way, it’s just matter of getting everybody else to feel that way and be on the same page — the media and people across the country,” Johnson said. “I think we did a good job of displaying that today. We all have guys that can do it. We talk about that ‘next man up’ mentality. If someone gets tired, the next man is going to go in there and do the job just as good or better.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 10:13 AM.
