Warren, Carter Among Finalists, Semifinalists For National Honors

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State senior tight end Tyler Warren was selected as a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award on Thursday, while junior defensive end Abdul Carter was named a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award.

 

Warren is one of three finalists for the Paul Hornung Award, joining Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Louisville’s Isaac Brown.

 

Carter is one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award and one of two Big Ten players among the semifinalists.

 

The Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, is given annually by the Louisville sports Commission (LSC) to the most versatile player in major college football.

 

The Lombardi Award, established in 1970, was presented to an outstanding lineman who best epitomizes the values of leadership, courage, performance and discipline on and off the field.

 

Tyler Warren · Sr. · TE · 6-6 · 256 · Mechanicsville, Va. · Atlee

• Is a semifinalist for the Mackey Award.
• Tabbed Midseason All-American by the Associated Press (1^st team), CBS Sports (1^st), Pro Football Focus (1^st), The Athletic (1^st) and the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
• Named William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist.
• Graduated in Fall 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in advertising/public relations and is pursuing a second degree in telecommunications.
• He is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
• Earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and honorable mention from the media in 2023.
• He owns 100 receptions for 1,212 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding three rushing scores and a passing touchdown at Penn State.
• Warren has 17 career receptions of 20+ yards and three career 100-yard receiving games.
• Warren’s 15 career touchdown receptions are good for 11th all-time at Penn State and tied for second among PSU tight ends with Mike Gesicki (15; 2014-17), trailing only Pat Freiermuth (16; 2018-20).
• He has the most total touchdowns (18; 15 receiving, 3 rushing) all-time among Penn State tight ends.
• He is second among PSU tight ends all-time with 100 career receptions and fourth with 1,212 career receiving yards.
• He is one of four active FBS tight ends (only Big Ten tight end) with 100+ receptions, 1,200+ receiving yards and 15+ receiving touchdowns in his career.
• He currently has a 24-game reception streak and has at least one 14-yard catch in each of his last 14 games.
• In 2024, he has 51 receptions for 606 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown.
• His 51 receptions are second-most in a season by a PSU tight end, trailing only Gesicki’s 57 in 2017, and his 606 receiving yards are second-most by a PSU tight end behind Gesicki’s 679 yards in 2017.
• Among FBS tight ends in 2024, Warren ranks second in receiving yards (606; 1st in Power Four), receiving yards per game (75.8; 1^st) and yards per reception (11.9; 1st, min. 40 catches), third in receptions (51; 1st) and 100-yard receiving games (2; 2nd) and sixth in receiving touchdowns (4; T-2nd).
• He’s also third among FBS tight ends with 18 receptions of 15+ yards this season and ranks second in percentage of catches for first downs (61%) among FBS tight ends with 40+ catches.
• He’s tied for second among FBS tight ends with seven red zone catches, while ranking second in 10+ yard receptions (26; 1st in P4) and tied for fourth in 25+ yard receptions (6; t-1st).
• Caught a career-high 17 passes for a career-best 224 yards and one touchdown against USC.
• Set a Penn State and Big Ten tight end record with 224 receiving yards, while joining Northwestern’s Jon Harvey (208 vs. Michigan, 1982) as the only Big Ten tight ends to go over 200 receiving yards in a game.
• His 17 receptions are a Penn State record and tie the FBS tight end record, set by New Mexico’s Emilio Vallez in 1967 and matched by Harvey in 1982.
• Warren’s 224 receiving yards are the second-most by a Penn State player, trailing only Jahan Dotson’s 242 yards at Maryland in 2021.

 

Abdul Carter · Jr. · DE · 6-3 · 252 · Philadelphia, Pa. · La Salle College High School

• Named to watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award Watch Lists.
• Tabbed a Preseason All-American by the Action Network (1^st team), Associated Press (2^nd team), CBS (2^nd team), ESPN (2^nd team), The Athletic (2^nd team) and the Walter Camp Award.
• Garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and second-team from the media as a linebacker in 2023 and named second-team All-Big Ten by the media and third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches in 2022.
• Tabbed second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated.
• Made switch from linebacker to defensive end following 2023 season.
• Owns 138 tackles (80 solo), 27.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, four forced fumbles, an interception and 12 pass breakups in his third season in Happy Valley.
• Has five career games with 2+ tackles for loss and four games with 2+ sacks.
• In 2024, has 34 tackles (19 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and one forced fumble.
• Ranks 11^th among Power Four defensive linemen, and third in the Big Ten, with 19 solo tackles.
• Carter’s 11.5 tackles for loss rank second among Big Ten defensive linemen and sixth among Power Four defensive linemen.
• His six sacks hold second among Big Ten defensive linemen.
• Against Kent State, tallied four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
• Notched a career-high four tackles for loss and two sacks, including a strip-sack, against Illinois.
• Earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, Senior Bowl Co-Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik Award Player of the Week and Bronko Nagurski Trophy Player of the Week honors following the Illinois game.
• Had three tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against UCLA.
• At USC, recorded a solo sack among 1.5 tackles for loss.
• Collected two sacks and four tackles vs. Ohio State.

 

The Paul Hornung Award is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission in honor of the late football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung. The winner will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award Dinner in Louisville in March 2025.

 

The 2024 Lombardi Award dinner will take place on December 11, 2024.

 

No. 6/6/7 Penn State welcomes Washington on Saturday, Nov. 9 for the Penn State White Out Game. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on Peacock.

 

For club and ticket information for the 2024 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.