Penn State football: Tight ends’ talent, depth have coaches “super excited”

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When Andrew Rappleyea was deciding whether to stay at Penn State or transfer after last season, he received a message from new Nittany Lions offensive line coach Ryan Clanton.

“Coach Clanton sent me a picture of one of our formations,” Rappleyea recalled. “It was 14 personnel (one running back and four tight ends). He said, ‘We need you here.’ It was pretty funny. They use tight ends a lot. They produce them. They have good ones.”

The Nittany Lions have several of them this season, giving them a deep group and perhaps the strongest position on the team.

Ben Brahmer, Gabe Burkle and Cooper Alexander transferred from Iowa State to join Matt Campbell, their coach with the Cyclones. Rappleyea, Finn Furmanek and Brian Kortovich remained at Penn State.

Brahmer, Burkle and Rappleyea will see plenty of time on offense; Alexander and Furmanek will see their share of action.

Campbell couldn’t contain his enthusiasm when he answered a question about the tight ends several days ago.

“Boy, we’re super excited about that group,” he said. “If you asked who has stuck out at every practice, those guys have made awesome plays … We’re excited about what that room collectively has a chance to be.

“We like to play with a fullback at times. We might have the ability to do some of that.”

It’s an abundance of riches. The biggest issue will be figuring out how many snaps each one will get and where each one will line up. Last year at Iowa State, Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser occasionally used four tight ends at the same time with some success.

“I remember one game we did it and we got into some tempo plays,” Brahmer said. “We were just rolling with four tight ends out there. It depends on the situation. If we have to do it, we’ll do it.”

Expect the Lions to mostly use sets with two and three tight ends. The 6-7, 250-pound Brahmer was an All-Big 12 second-team pick last year after he caught 37 passes for 446 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. He has focused on improving his blocking since his arrival at Penn State.

“He moves great,” Rappleyea said. “You don’t see too many 6-7 guys move the way he does. It’s a testimony to his hard work. Coming out of high school (in Pierce, Neb.), there were a lot of things said about him being a smaller recruit. He’s developed into a great player.”

Brahmer has been one of the few tight ends to fully participate in spring practice and fall camp. The 6-6, 247-pound Burkle, who’s from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, saw his second season as a starter at Iowa State end last year with a knee injury. He missed spring practice and has been a limited participant in fall camp. Campbell said Penn State hopes he’s ready for a game sometime in September.

“The biggest thing is just going out there when I feel ready, when I don’t feel nervous about it,” Burkle said. “I don’t want to go out there and put myself in danger of re-injuring it again. It’s whenever it feels right and whenever the staff in the treatment room feel that it’s right.”

Campbell described Burkle as “the best blocking tight end in the country.” But he’s caught 54 passes for 607 yards and two TDs in his career and has had a catch in 16 consecutive games.

“He’s the guy who cleans up the mess for us on offense,” said Mouser, who also coaches the tight ends. “We have Gabe go against the hardest guy to block. If we needed a critical catch last year on third-and-1 or fourth-and-1, we threw it to Gabe. He’s the most trusted person that I’ve probably ever coached. Nobody prepares harder.”

Campbell and his staff were thrilled that the 6-4, 242-pound Rappleyea decided to stay at Penn State. Last season, his first as a starter, he had 20 receptions for 180 yards and three TDs, including one in the Pinstripe Bowl.

He underwent offseason surgery for a foot injury and missed spring practice. He has participated in almost every preseason practice this month.

“It’s been great for us to see Rap fully healthy,” Campbell said. “I think this is the healthiest Andrew Rappleyea we’ve seen or had the ability to evaluate. He’s twitchy, a dynamic mover. I’m excited about his ability to grow in this offense.”

Mouser admitted that it was challenging to convince Rappleyea in the winter that he would play a large role, with the former Iowa State coaches adding Brahmer, Burkle and Alexander from the Cyclones.

“He’s outspoken and confident,” Mouser said. “He can make everyone around him better from a communication and connection standpoint. He has one of the best personalities of anybody I’ve ever coached. At the same time, he’s a sick, twisted, nasty guy.

“He doesn’t want to be given anything. He wants to earn everything. His energy and physicality jump out at you.”

Furmanek has had an outstanding fall camp, according to Mouser. Alexander played in all but one game last season at Iowa State and had five catches. Penn State also has moved Peyton Falzone (Nazareth) and Bobby Mears (Malvern Prep) to tight end from quarterback and defensive end, respectively.

Rappleyea has played with and learned from Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson, two of the five former Penn State tight ends in the NFL. He likes what he has seen so far this year.

“It just goes to show what it’s like at Penn State University, Tight End U.,” he said. “When we had a couple departures, I knew what I wanted to do. I knew that with Coach Campbell coming here, we were going to get some guys. I was excited about it.

“I’ve learned from Ben. I’ve learned from Gabe. We complement each other really well.”

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