Penn State has completed the first half of the regular season and finds itself sitting in a great spot on its quest to compete in this year expanded College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions sit at no. 3 in the major polls during their bye week as they prepare for a road game at Wisconsin and a home game against Ohio State in the next couple of weeks.
With Penn State sitting on a bye week, we decided to get together as a staff and share some of our options on the Nittany Lions before the second half gets started. We started off with quick midseason assessments of Penn State and continued with a look at our biggest surprises from the first half of the year. We also discussed what needs to improve in the second half of the season and what Penn State’s final record will be this regular season. But who is this team’s midseason MVP and most improved player? Our staff shares their picks.
Kevin: How can I go and pick anyone but tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] after the performance he had this past weekend? Some may say Warren’s receiving yardage is inflated by his monster game at USC, which is fair to suggest, but that just comes from people who are not paying attention to everything Warren is doing other than catch the football. Warren has been used ina. variety of ways by offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, and it has been effective just about every time. Warren is a Swiss Army knife of an offensive player for the Nittany Lions and opposing defenses are going to be frustrated trying to figure out what he will do next.
As for the most improved player, I think it has to be the starting quarterback, [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]. I do think there have been some moments that have frustrated for Allar this season, but I think his overall grasp of running the offense is continuing to evolve. Take this past weekend at USC. The points may not have piled up early but Allar led a terrific drive early in the game that had to settle for a field goal and Allar took over the game in the second half as Penn State battled back. Allar completed two key fourth-down passes with the game on the line to help get Penn State into an overtime situation to get the win.
Charlie: The first half MVP has to be Tyler Warren. Drew Allar is a close second, but Warren is doing everything in this Penn State offense. Coming off a 17 catch performance where he snapped and caught a touchdown on the same play put him over the top for me. He is the best tight end in college football and is playing like the best player on Penn State’s team.
If Drew Allar can’t be the Nittany Lions mid-season MVP he can be their most improved player. After two season of averaging under seven yards per attempt, Allar is airing it out this year averaging 10.2 yards per attempt which is good for fifth in the nation among quarterbacks on pace for at least 168 attempts. His completion percentage is up a whopping 10.6% to 70.5% from 59.9% and his 87.1 QBR is eighth in the country. The difference between Allar’s performance from 2023 to this year is resounding. Allar’s performance last weekend against USC is arguably the main reason Penn State is 6-0.
Shayne: MVP: Tyler Warren. MIP: Drew Allar
Brad: Tyler Warren has been incredible, so giving anyone the MVP besides a player who has literally done everything on offense so far this year would be malpractice. Not only is he the best tight end in the country, but he’s also proven to be one of the best all-around players in the country and is doing so much for this Penn State offense that has allowed them to put up the points and explosive plays they were searching for heading into this season.
Most improved has to be Omari Evans. Coming into the year, the former three-star recruit had only caught nine balls for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He has eclipsed that through six games this season, catching 11 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Evans has emerged into a real threat on offense.
Check out more of our midseason roundtable discussions:
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