A look at the name, number & face KU's tight ends saw all offseason

When the Kansas football team opens preseason camp today, just one month out from its 2026 season opener, there’s a chance that the KU tight ends will hear the name of NFL star Tyler Warren mentioned a time or two.

It’s also highly unlikely that they’ll hear Warren’s name nearly as often as they did this spring, when KU offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who coached Warren at Penn State, returned to Kansas and began reshaping what he wants this version of the Jayhawks’ offense to look like. 

“I’m not saying we have Tyler Warren on our football team right now. Who knows? We might. We have some pretty good football players. And I think they’re excited about the creativity and the different things we can do with them.”

— KU tight ends coach Matt Lubick

While that vision will include plenty of involvement from the wideouts and running backs, it also figures to feature a few things that Warren did best during his monster season at Penn State in 2024. 

And the way the guys in KU’s tight end room see it, that’s not in any way anything bad. 

“We’ve seen a lot of his film, from when we were installing the offense,” veteran KU tight end Leyton Cure told R1S1 Sports this spring. “He’s on a lot of our practice clips. And that’s a pretty good guy to emulate our game after. Getting to see that and knowing that Coach K coached that guy and was able to get him to those spots has been really cool.” 

In 16 games during the 2024 season, which included a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals, Warren caught 104 balls for more than 1,200 yards and 8 TDs. He also recorded 26 rushing attempts, which led to 4 more TDs, and even threw a touchdown pass. 

As a rookie with the Colts in 2025, Warren hauled in 817 yards and 5 TDs on 87 receptions and 112 targets in 17 games. 

All-American. Mackey Award winner. Heisman Trophy candidate. Monster rookie season in the NFL as an encore to his huge season at Penn State. 

Warren has done it all. 

And the Jayhawks, starting with Kotelnicki and fellow offensive assistant coach Matt Lubick, have made sure to utilize that, both with the players they have on the roster and the players they seek. 

“We use that in recruiting because it was very unique the way he got used,” said Lubick, who called KU’s offense “tight end friendly.” “He was a tight end that was a Heisman Trophy candidate and had stats that were off the charts. Part of it was he’s a really good football player, but part of it was the play design and the uniqueness and creativity of moving him around.” 

That’s what jumped out to KU newcomer Carter Moses, a redshirt senior who transferred from Albany in the offseason. 

“I definitely watched him (both in college and last season with the Indianapolis Colts),” Moses said. “His rookie season was great, the way he made an impact immediately. He’s a hell of a player.” 

Although Warren is bigger and taller, Moses believes he’s a little faster and he would love nothing more than to be utilized this season in ways similar to how Kotelnicki used Warren at Penn State. 

“Everybody’s got their own skill sets and everything,” Moses told R1S1 Sports this spring. “But, in the right offense, I can definitely see myself contributing in a similar way. It definitely matters to see that and hear about that. You want to see past success and you want to see yourself in that role. But you also want to make a name for yourself and show what you can do.”

Although he said they all saw Warren a lot during the offseason, Cure said it doesn’t come up as much today as it did early on and it also isn’t framed as a direct comparison. 

“It’s not really, ‘Do it like Tyler,’” Cure said. “It’s more, ‘Here’s Tyler Warren running it.’ But he’s a good example of what you want in a tight end. You put on the tape and he’s blocking well and then you slide to the next clip and he’s running a great rout and getting open. It’s like, what more could you want?” 

He added: “Just being able to go through his film and see what he does, there’s definitely stuff that we can take away from his game that will help us succeed.” 

Lubick, who now coaches KU’s tight ends — Kotelnicki had them when he was here the first time — 

“Bringing Coach K back, coaching guys like Tyler Warren and how we utilize them, the creative ways, I think guys buy into that, that they’re gonna be used in the passing game and the run game,” Lubick said. “And we use ‘em a lot.” 

“When we’re teaching plays and schemes and technique and how to do things, we do use him as an example because he had a good way of doing things,” Lubick continued, adding that he really doesn’t think that KU’s coaching staff can use Warren as an example too much. 

“I’m not saying we have Tyler Warren on our football team right now,” Lubick said. “Who knows? We might. We have some pretty good football players. And I think they’re excited about the creativity and the different things we can do with them.”

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