Corey Smith was on an airplane to State College when he came across an alarming Instagram post. It said that his running backs coach, Ja’Juan Seider, was leaving Penn State for the same role at Notre Dame. Then he received a call from Seider. The news was confirmed. Seider, James Franklin’s second-longest tenured assistant, was moving on.
Smith said he was initially “surprised.” And Quinton Martin Jr., who worked alongside Smith as a freshman this past season, felt the same way. Why would Seider depart ahead of a season with national championship aspirations? Ahead of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen’s final year of collegiate eligibility? They’ve since processed the situation.
“Obviously, I was hurt,” Martin said on Tuesday. “Me and Coach Seider built an incredible bond this season. He taught me a lot about the running back position, about the game as a whole. But at the end of the day, he had to do what’s best for himself and his family, and I completely respect his decision.
“It honestly did catch me off guard a little bit. It did because I thought he was going to stay. But like I said before, it’s a business and whatever is best for him.”
There have hardly been concerns that Singleton or Allen could follow Seider to the Fighting Irish, who possess another talented running back duo in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. The public’s uncertainty has particularly centered on the Nittany Lions’ running backs of the future: Smith, Martin and the contingent of recruits expected to soon follow.
But neither Smith, who showed promise with 95 rushing yards in his collegiate debut against Washington, nor Martin, formerly one of Pennsylvania’s top-ranked recruits, have any inclination of exploring the transfer portal when the spring window opens on April 16.
They remain the next men up, alongside Cam Wallace, when Singleton and Allen eventually enter the NFL Draft next offseason.
“I didn’t have any thoughts on being in the portal,” Smith said. “Me as a player, regardless of the situation, I’m gonna be me and I’m gonna ball out to my highest expectations, and I feel like it’s gonna be at Penn State. So, yeah, I’m good. … One of the top reasons I came here was Coach Franklin and obviously Coach Seider. I really put my trust in both of them. So, I’m 100% confident in my decision in being here, and I trust him for sure.”
The program’s running backs corps remains a tight-knit group. Smith compared Singleton and Allen to his “big brothers.” And Martin said the standout duo was also “caught off guard” and “hurt” by Seider’s decision because “going into their last season without him could take a toll on them.”
But Singleton and Allen have rallied the crew together ahead of a season with mounting expectations. As for running backs on the Nittany Lions’ roster, there doesn’t appear to be an impending shakeup following Seider’s departure. The end goal remains the end goal.
“They’re really just saying to the younger guys in the room, don’t let it really affect you as much,” Smith said. “Obviously it’s gonna affect us, but it’s more so gonna affect them, because they had a journey with him. It’s a lot of reasons. With us, I feel like it’s less important because we didn’t really have a big season with him. The best thing from them I would just say, like, ‘Just keep balling.’”
