Penn State football has reportedly found the man to lead arguably the top running back groups in the nation.
And, once again, coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions have made about the biggest hiring splash possible. Just a couple of weeks after hiring arguably the top defensive coordinator in the nation, they now appear to have secured one of the most highly-regarded running back coaches.
Stan Drayton, who’s won two national championships coaching some of the nation’s top running backs, will be joining the Nittany Lions staff, according to a report from ESPN senior writer Pete Thamel.
Drayton, who will turn 54 next month, most recently served as head coach of the Temple Owls. He was fired in November after his team won just nine games over three seasons.
But he’s coming to Penn State to do what he’s done best: recruit and coach running backs, like he’s done in the Big Ten, SEC and elsewhere for more than two decades.
He steps into an enviable position in State College. He’ll be in charge of what may be the top running back room in the nation, headlined by senior leaders Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, both 1,000-yard rushers last season. There are five younger, promising scholarship running backs behind them and two nationally elite prospects verbally committed to Penn State (Harrisburg High junior Messiah Mickens; McKeesport sophomore Kemon Spell).
This move is the latest for Franklin and his team during the busiest start possible to 2025: They made a playoff run into January, convinced a large contingent of stars, like Singleton and Allen, to return for the upcoming season, then hired top defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from national champion Ohio State.
They wrapped up one recruiting class, are busy building two more.
And they begin spring practice in just over a month.
Drayton, a Cleveland, Ohio native, will replace Ja’Juan Seider, the Florida native and standout recruiter who was at Penn State for seven seasons. He’s reportedly headed to Notre Dame.
Here are five things to know about Penn State’s new running backs coach:
Penn State football: Stan Drayton, exhaustive college coaching resume
Drayton has coached running backs at some of the top programs in the nation.
His most recent assistant coach work was at Texas, where he was an associate head coach and led the running back room from 2017 to 2021.
Before that, he won national championships coaching running backs at Ohio State and Florida.
He also coached the position at Syracuse, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Bowling Green, Villanova and Penn.
What running backs has Stan Drayton developed?
Drayton has tutored some of college football’s top tailbacks over the past 20 years.
Drayton’s list of notable pupils includes Bijan Robinson (Texas), Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde (Ohio State), Jerious Norwood (Mississippi State) and Brian Westbrook (Villanova).
At Ohio State, for example, Hyde finished as the Big Ten’s top running back under Drayton in 2013 (1,521 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns). Elliott was then third nationally and second in school history with 1,878 rushing yards the following year − eventually becoming the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
How it happened: James Franklin explains how Penn State football hired Jim Knowles away from Ohio State
Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen: James Franklin: Why Penn State football’s Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen are back in 2025
Stan Drayton has NFL experience
Drayton was running backs coach for the Chicago Bears from 2015-16. He also served as offensive quality control coach/special teams of the Green Bay Packers (2001-03).
Who has Stan Drayton recruited?
Drayton is a respected talent recruiter, as well.
He is credited with landing such high-profile prospects as quarterback Cam Newton and linemen Mike and Maurkice Pouncey to Florida, Robinson to Texas and Westbrook to Villanova.
Does Stan Drayton have Penn State football or in-state connections?
Penn State’s offensive line coach Phil Trautwein was a starting tackle during Drayton’s coaching time at Florida.
Drayton also was a Division III All-American running back at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football to hire running backs coach Stan Drayton
