Q&A: Atlee Head Coach Matt Gray & TE Tyler Warren

Snyder: Talk to me about Tyler’s personality a bit. What’s he like? I think fans really like that he’s not on social media, not someone that’s looking to promote himself. You just don’t see that much nowadays, so what he’s like?

Gray: When he’s out and about, he’s very unassuming. He sticks out because he’s 6-6, but he’s very unassuming. I always have coaches come through and many of them ask good questions. Some coaches come through and it’s clear that they’re just chasing the kid, but others, like Tyler Bowen, come through and they ask good questions. You can tell they really want to do their due diligence. So, one day, I had a coach with me and we were in the library. He was asking me about Tyler and what kind of person he is. So, I went up to the librarian in our school and asked her if she knew Tyler. She replied by asking if he’s one of our football players. I told her, ‘yes ma’am,’ and then she replied that she doesn’t think she could pick him out of a lineup. My point with that is that he’s not the kind of player that brings attention to himself. He’s very humble, a great teammate and a great friend. He’s super loyal and not an all eyes on me type guy.

Snyder: What’s Tyler like as a quarterback? What kind of offense do you guys run? I want to get a better feel for what all he brings to your team and just how that can maybe translate to his time at Penn State.

Gray: He’s an impact guy and a difference-maker. There’s no doubt about that. I think he’s a really good quarterback and I think there are a lot of other Division I schools that think the same. At the same time, Tyler has the potential to play on Sunday. He wants to be a football player, first and foremost. He’s always jumping in our different tackling drills and he’s probably one of our best safeties. He just loves the game. But, all it takes is one dumb choice by his head coach and he can get dinged up. So, for me, I need to do all I can to keep him healthy and get the ball in his hands as much as possible. There’s no better way to do that than having him play quarterback. At the same time, he has a cannon for an arm. He really does. So, when you add that all up, that’s what’s best for our team and Tyler is the ultimate team guy. He enjoys playing quarterback and he’s very good at it, but he’s an incredible athlete.

All you have to do is watch one or two games to see that. He’s 6-6, 230 pounds and runs between a 4.6 and a 4.7 [second] 40. He jumps out of the gym and is super physical. For example, we had a play this past season where Tyler broke a pretty nice run for us. He’s running up the sidelines and all I want him to do is step out of bounds. What’s Tyler do? He lowers his shoulder and just trucks the guy. Everyone was excited, of course, but when I got the chance to talk to him, I had to say, ‘Hey Tyler, next time, just step out of bounds.’ He then responded that he will, but that specific kid was talking trash on one of his teammates. He wanted to send a message. So, I think that’s just kind of an example of the kind of guy Tyler is. He not only loves to be physical and loves the game, but he’s super loyal to his teammates. He’s the most fiery competitor I’ve been around. I coached 15 years in college and now this is my fourth year here. He’s the ultimate competitor. Tyler just refuses to lose.

Snyder: You hit on this a little bit, but do you know any of his lifting numbers or maybe his shuttle time? Any of that? I know he plays a few sports, but what’s he like in the weight room?

Gray: Yeah, I know he’s close to being a 500-pound squatter. He bends well and gets below parallel. He moves the weight really well. He’s also going to be close to a 260-pound hang clean, so that shows his explosion. Benching isn’t really his priority, especially for us. He’s probably close to 250 pounds on the bench, but he also plays baseball, so I back off on him in the springtime, which is when we’re lifting the hardest. So, that may not be a very good gauge of where he’s at. It’ll definitely climb if he was able to commit full-time, which I don’t want him to do. I think it’s great that he plays all these sports. One thing that’s clear is that he has a lot of God-given talent and he knows that. He doesn’t take advantage of that. He just works hard and works to improve whenever he can.

Snyder: I want to get a feel for his recruitment because I don’t know much about it. When did schools really start showing interest? Was it after his sophomore season? Also, do you know who all offered then and what positions they liked him at?

Gray: Well, as I’m sure you know, quarterback is unique because everyone wants to see him throw. In February, it’s not that he’s not working on football, but he’s playing basketball then and is one of our better players. That’s what he likes to do. With Virginia Tech, he got to go to Randolph-Macon for one of their one-day camps and that’s where Tech saw him throw. Their quarterback coach was very impressed then. That was the summer going into his sophomore year. Once he put together some pretty good film, they came back through during the fall and within five minutes or so, they called and pulled the trigger on an offer. After that, a ton of schools wanted to see him throw. I remember Wake Forest, Virginia, North Carolina, Richmond. Those were just the schools I remember off the top of my head, but he was busy with sports. He was interested, but there was no way he could go to all these camps.

Later that spring, we brought some schools in during the evaluation period and I think a lot were interested, but a few of them were just getting to know him. I remember Syracuse was one school that jumped in immediately after that. His size and his arm grab everyone’s attention. He’s also a lefty, so schools just see a lot of potential. He also went up to Penn State and threw at their camp two summers ago. I know he ran some routes for them while he was there. Things settled down [after he committed to Virginia Tech], but this winter, some film got out of there of him playing basketball. I think that’s when schools began to realize how athletic he is. He was jumping out of the gym. That’s when Alabama started showing interest and Clemson jumped in. He went down to Alabama for camp earlier this summer. Michigan also dropped an offer with a few other schools. It really picked up after a bunch of schools saw his basketball highlights.

Snyder: So, was Penn State showing much interest before this past winter?

Gray: I think Penn State was always pretty interested in him after he came to camp. They saw how athletic he is for his size. That grabbed their attention, but when that basketball video got out, that’s when his recruitment really exploded.

Snyder: Who were Penn State’s main competitors in the final weeks of this process? I know a few of the schools that offered, but was there any particular school that he was really looking at?

Gray: Like I mentioned, he went down to Alabama. Clemson got a commitment then, so I think that’s what kept them from offering. He then went down to Alabama and he threw the ball down there a little bit. Michigan was also really making a push to get him to camp. They actually offered, as did some other schools. South Carolina made a push. They really wanted to get him on campus. Louisville came in and they made a push for a visit. Syracuse offered as an athlete and said they’d love to have him. Virginia Tech jumped back in, too, but in the end, I think he was really just impressed with Coach [James] Franklin, Coach [Ricky] Rahne and Coach Bowen. I think they set the bar pretty high early on.

Snyder: How important was your relationship with not only Tyler Bowen, but also James Franklin and Ricky Rahne? How did that impact your decision?

Warren: Throughout the whole process all three coaches were open and honest with us. I think that says a lot about the culture and the type of people that are at Penn State. That is what excited me and my parents about the opportunity.

Snyder: You visited Penn State before making your commitment. What stood out about that visit? What were some of the key takeaways from that trip?

Warren: I liked the way they ran their practice. It’s pretty obvious that Coach Franklin is a high energy coach. Also, the academic facility was one of the best I had seen. In addition to all the resources available, Penn state has a number of majors that I’m interested in.