UNIVERSITY PARK — Tyler Warren was a quarterback coming out of high school in Virginia and did a little bit of everything.

He stood in the pocket and also ran at times when his team needed the tough yards.

But even he knew his future was not under center.

“I think tight end was probably the right move for me,” Warren said Saturday after leading Penn State to a 56-0 blowout of Kent State at Beaver Stadium.

Warren, though, went back to his quarterback roots as he threw a touchdown to close the non-conference portion of the Nittany Lions’ schedule.

Warren’s 17-yard dump-off to Nicholas Singleton wasn’t exactly what a coach dreams of when he thinks of touchdown passes.

“I told him it was one of the ugliest touchdown passes I’ve ever seen, but it went for a touchdown and that’s all that matters,” PSU coach James Franklin said.

“It slipped out of my hand a little bit. But it worked out,” Warren said.

Warren was just a small part in a monstrous day for the Nits’ offense, which set a school-record for total offense with 718 yards — 409 through the air and another 309 on the ground. They also set a record for first downs (40) in a game.

Warren caught five passes for 50 yards and a TD and rushed for 16 yards out of the Wildcat formation on one carry. But make no mistake about it: A quarterback is only what Warren once was, but no longer.

“Ty Warren is the best tight end in college football,” Franklin said. “The tight end position isn’t supposed to be about receiving yards. It’s about complete players — blockers, receivers.”

“He’s a Swiss Army knife,” PSU starting quarterback Drew Allar said. “You can put him at quarterback, and he’ll run for 10-plus yards or he’ll throw it for a 20-yard touchdown. He’s a very special tight end. He’s probably the most complete tight end in all of college football.”

Warren certainly isn’t about to be making a run at Allar’s job any time soon, but he does have a knack for making Allar look even better than the stats show for him. And if you’re wondering, it was a solid day for Allar, too, with a 17 of 21 performance for 309 yards and three TDs.

In the first quarter, Allar threw up a ball near the Golden Flashes’ sideline that looked like it was headed out of bounds. Warren leaped and made a Calvin Johson-esque one-handed grab for a 14-yard gain while also taking a shot from a Kent State defender.

“Very nonchalant, I guess,” Allar said of the catch. “He just caught it and stood there. It was very casual.”

“I got popped a little on that play,” Warren said. “It was really just Drew trusting me to go make a play.”

Kent State is not your perfect non-conference opponent. In fact, they might be the furthest thing from a perfect opponent. Just two weeks ago, the Golden Flashes lost to FCS Saint Francis, and they followed that up with a 71-0 thrashing from Tennessee last week.

Quite simply, Kent State is a program in shambles. PSU fans should really take today’s results with a grain of salt.

But the Lions will need every bit of Warren’s production moving forward from his regular day job as a tight end, where he made five receptions for 50 yards on Saturday.

The Big Ten schedule now comes calling, starting with a meeting from Illinois next weekend in primetime.

“We need Whiteout energy next week,” Franklin said.

And perhaps more of Tyler Warren showing a little bit of everything he can do on the football field.

Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.