Penn State has found its next running backs coach, hiring the experienced Stan Drayton to a multi-year deal. Drayton, who served as Temple’s head coach over the past three seasons, is set to replace Ja’Juan Seider, who left the Nittany Lions after seven seasons for Notre Dame last weekend.
Multiple reports early Friday indicated Penn State had signed the 32-year coaching veteran to a multi-year deal before the program confirmed the hire later in the day.
“Stan Drayton brings decades of experience coaching running backs at the highest levels to our program,” Nittany Lion coach James Franklin said. “He is an important addition to our staff. His experience as a head coach and working alongside elite backs in his career will be invaluable to our running backs room. I am so excited to welcome Stan and his family, including his wife, Monique, and daughters, Amari and Anaya, to Happy Valley.”
Drayton most recently coached the position at Texas from 2017 to 2021, helping recruit and develop Bijan Robinson into an eventual top-10 NFL Draft selection. He has also coached running backs at Ohio State, Florida, Syracuse, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Bowling Green, Villanova, Penn, Eastern Michigan, his alma mater Allegheny and with the Chicago Bears.
“I am excited and honored to be joining this elite organization led by Coach Franklin,” Drayton said. “I have so much respect for the culture and program he has built here. Penn State has a rich running back tradition and a very talented running back room now. I am thrilled for this opportunity and am looking forward to getting to work.”
Drayton’s experience is clear, and he’s produced almost everywhere he’s been prior to a rough stretch leading the Owls. His unit ranked within the top-20 nationally in yards per rush attempt in each of his final two seasons with the Longhorns, and the Buckeyes, led by Carlos Hyde, were the nation’s best team in that statistical category under Drayton’s guidance in 2013.
Ohio State won the national championship in Drayton’s final season working under Urban Meyer at Ohio State. It came in large part due to running back Ezekiel Elliot, who Drayton recruited out of high school. Elliot compiled 1,878 rushing yards, ranking third nationally. That national title marked the second of Drayton’s career after he won his first with the Gators in 2006.
But long before landing in the Power Four, Drayton was making waves just a few hours from Penn State, at Villanova, where he helped turn a little-known running back named Brian Westbrook into an All-American. Westbrook became the first collegiate player on any level to surpass both 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season under Drayton in 1998.
Drayton will have no shortage of talent at his disposal in his first season at Penn State. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who each eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards this past season, are returning for a final year of eligibility. Corey Smith, Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace are other young pieces who have flashed at times behind Singleton and Allen.
The Nittany Lions are also set to return four of five starters on their offensive line — Drew Shelton, Vega Ioane, Nick Dawkins and Anthony Donkohs — and possess a number of talented reserves, such as Nolan Rucci, Cooper Cousins and JB Nelson behind them. That should only make Drayton’s job leading the running backs that much easier.
And it shouldn’t be difficult for Drayton to build chemistry with Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who played under Drayton at Florida.
Drayton’s recruiting resume speaks for itself. He signed the five-star Robinson to Texas in 2019, Cam Newton and Mike and Maurkice Pouncey to the Gators and Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward and Curtis Samuel to Ohio State. The list goes on. Drayton’s list of future NFL players he recruited out of high school is extensive and widely impressive.
With ties to Pennsylvania and Ohio, Drayton obviously has connections in Penn State’s typical recruiting footprint. But it’s in other areas, like Texas, Florida and various other southern regions that could make him an intriguing fit on the recruiting trail, similar to what Seider was able to offer.
