Stan Drayton originally wanted to be a lawyer. But Ken O’Keefe, then the head coach at Allegheny, and his offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, had other ideas. They laughed in Drayton’s face, assuring him his future lay in coaching. They brought him on board as an Allegheny assistant the year after Drayton graduated, and, 32 years later, he’s still going strong.
Drayton’s football journey has taken him from the Division III ranks to the NFL and throughout the FBS, where he’s defined himself as one of the top developers of running backs this century. Now, after a three-year stint as Temple’s head coach, Drayton has assumed the role of Penn State’s running backs coach. He’ll help lead a national championship push in 2025.
“I went to school in this state. All you hear is Penn State. Worked in this state, all you hear is Penn State,” Drayton told play-by-play announcer Steve Jones in an interview posted to X on Thursday. “And so this is a premier opportunity with a premier coaching staff for me to continue my career. And so it was a no-brainer for me. It really was. It’s a high-tier program that’s holding integrity, and it’s all about raising the whole man here, and I really appreciate that.”
Ja’Juan Seider, who left the Nittany Lions after seven years on James Franklin’s staff to serve as Notre Dame’s running backs coach, is out of the picture. In his place is Drayton, who will take charge of a position group led by Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who each eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards this past season and are each returning for their final seasons of eligibility.
Drayton has turned a handful of collegiate running backs such as Brian Westbrook, Carlos Hyde, Ezekiel Elliot and Bijan Robinson into NFL starters. And he’ll look to do the same with Singleton and Allen this upcoming fall. Drayton aims to use a “custom fit” learning experience for each of his athletes, many of whom had grown accustomed to Seider’s presence over the past few seasons.
“First things first for me is I have to earn their trust, and they have to earn mine, and that’s with every one of those backs in that room, from top to bottom,” Drayton said. “In order for me to get them where they’re trying to go and help them to reach the potential that they’re capable of, there has to be a certain level of trust and respect there, and that’s earned.
“Now, if there’s a guy that is more mature in his approach and he’s doing the things that are already at a high standard, then you can take the level of development to another level for them, if they’re ready. But it has to be custom fit.”
Drayton’s immediate focus should center on the development of Singleton and Allen in their final years at Penn State, but there’s another task to be had at defining who will carry the weight after they depart next offseason. Corey Smith, Quinton Martin Jr., Cam Wallace and freshmen Tikey Hayes and Jabree Wallace-Coleman all have a golden opportunity in front of them.
The key to getting the most out of these younger, less-experienced players, Drayton said, is to make sure that Singleton and Allen are leading the right example. And that begins with Drayton, who will install a different perspective within a system that is likely to remain mostly unchanged in the second year under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
“They’re leaving back a legacy. Those guys have to follow what they leave behind. And if there’s a crack in their foundation, they may create a mindset for a younger player that that’s acceptable, and that can’t be, especially at a place like Penn State.
“So there’s been a legacy of great backs that I think we are following that legacy as we continue on today. And it’s important that our younger guys understand that it is bigger than them, and they’re leaving back something that has to be picked up and inherited by their teammates.”
Drayton’s coaching philosophy began to form through lessons with O’Keefe and Philbin all those years ago. But, for the most part, despite his success, it hasn’t changed much with each of the 14 teams he’s been previously employed by. It’s an open-minded mentality that he’ll attempt to convey as the leader of one of the nation’s deepest running back rooms.
“You have to be able to customize your teaching and spend the proper time that it takes for certain individuals to learn what you’re teaching,” Drayton said. “There’s no cookie-cutter way to do it. You just have to figure it out as a teacher. And I think that’s what makes great teachers, is those who have found ways to mainstream adjust their message to make sure that the individual is getting what they’re being taught.”
