Penn State tight ends Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle named to John Mackey Award watch list

Penn State has put two tight ends on the John Mackey Award watch list, a move that indicates how central the position figures into its preseason identity. Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle, both members of the Nittany Lions’ tight end group, earned recognition ahead of the 2026 season as candidates for an award that is typically viewed as a bellwether for the most productive and well-rounded tight end in college football.

The background matters for Penn State’s staff. Brahmer and Burkle arrived in Happy Valley as transfers from Iowa State and, per the report, chose to follow coach Matt Campbell to Penn State. That coaching continuity is often a key part of how a program tries to translate production from one system to the next, especially at a position that can vary widely in usage between blocking-heavy roles and matchup-oriented receiving targets.

The John Mackey Award is designed specifically for tight ends, but it is not limited to players who simply catch passes. Voters commonly consider the full profile of a tight end, including route running, hands, athleticism after the catch, and their value as blockers in the run game. That broader lens helps explain why watch lists can be especially meaningful for teams like Penn State, where the tight end room is frequently asked to do multiple jobs within the same offense.

Penn State’s tight end group has had to balance traditional responsibilities, like supporting the inside run game with effective blocking, while also functioning as a leverage target in the passing game. With two different players generating award-level attention, the watch list listing both names suggests the coaching staff expects meaningful roles from each player rather than a one-man storyline.

Brahmer and Burkle’s watch list status also provides a useful frame for fans and evaluators as the season unfolds. Early in any campaign, the tight end position can be harder to evaluate than positions with clearer benchmarks, because usage depends on down and distance, personnel groupings, and opponent coverages. Award watch list recognition, however, can foreshadow that both players are in the conversation for consistent field time and high-impact plays.

Even so, the watch list is not the same thing as a guarantee of season-long statistical dominance. It is a projection based on prior performance and perceived fit, and college football outcomes often turn on fundamentals such as staying healthy, earning in-game trust, and translating spring and preseason form into regular-season production.

What to watch next is how Penn State distributes responsibilities among its tight ends as the season progresses. If both Brahmer and Burkle are used in complementary roles, with one leaning more toward receiving and the other providing heavier downfield or run-game support, that would match the kind of two-player recognition the watch list represents. If one player emerges as the clear focal point, the presence of both names still gives the staff flexibility as defenses adjust.

For Penn State, the practical payoff of this type of recognition is twofold: it can reinforce recruiting and retention messaging around the program’s ability to develop tight ends, and it gives the coaching staff a measurable public benchmark for what it wants its tight ends to accomplish by season’s end. The John Mackey Award watch list is just the opening chapter, but it frames the expectations for this tight end duo from early on.