Penn State assistant head football coach Ja’Juan Seider, who has developed Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, is leaving to become running backs coach at Notre Dame, a source confirmed Sunday to the Reading Eagle.
Pete Thamel of ESPN first reported that the Fighting Irish were “targeting” Seider to replace Deland McCullough, who recently left to join the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff.
Seider has been a very effective recruiter and the Penn State assistant with the second-longest tenure behind cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, an original member of James Franklin’s staff in 2014..
The 47-year-old Seider was at Florida for one season before he left for Penn State in 2018. He also has coached Miles Sanders and Journey Brown, whose career was cut short by a medical condition.
He also coached at Marshall and West Virginia, where he played quarterback for three seasons before transferring to Florida A&M for his senior year in 1999.
Under Seider’s guidance, Singleton and Allen both had 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and have announced they’re returning for the 2025 season.
Allen rushed for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns this past season and Singleton ran for 1,099 yards and 12 TDs. In addition, Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, was Penn State’s third-leading receiver with 41 catches for 375 yards and five scores.
Allen and Singleton have combined to rush for 5,189 yards and 56 touchdowns with Seider as their coach.
Seider is from Belle Glade, Fla., and has opened a pipeline to South Florida for Penn State, which has four players from Florida in each of its last two recruiting classes.
