Penn State’s James Franklin has turned to a longtime coach who has a wealth of experience coaching running backs to oversee the Nittany Lions’ backfield in 2025, per report. Stan Drayton, most recently the former head coach at Temple, has coached running backs at the NFL and major college level.

Having lost running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Penn State Nittany Lions need a replacement. But it looks like they've found their man. According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel,

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — In the days after the Orange Bowl, Penn State’s players gathered on campus for a team meeting. At that point in January, they found out defensive coordinator Tom Allen was leaving for Clemson and that James Franklin would do his part to hire the best candidate he could. The team’s season had just ended three days prior.

Seider, one of the top recruiters in college football, will be missed and veteran Penn State head coach James Franklin praised him Tuesday for his impact on the Lions’ program.

Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media Tuesday afternoon to preview the 2025 offseason and winter updates. Franklin discussed several topics, including the Super Bowl, hiring Jim Knowles, winter conditioning, Ja'Juan Seider's departure and much more.

Franklin and Knowles previously had discussed a job at Penn State. An early morning call two days after Ohio State's national championship began the process.

Ja’Juan Seider’s former boss James Franklin was very complimentary of his former RB coach as he heads off for the same position at Notre Dame.