Penn State head coach James Franklin made it clear Tuesday that he wasn’t in search of simply anybody to fill the void left by Ja’Juan Seider, who took the identical function at Notre Dame final weekend.
“We’ve obtained to exit and get the easiest candidate we will,” Franklin stated Tuesday, per 247Sports’ Tyler Donohue. “There’s an inventory that’s in all probability not as deep as folks consider candidates that may come to Penn State.”
Drayton is a kind of choose few coaches with a confirmed capability to develop top-tier expertise whereas sustaining robust relationships with gamers and recruits alike. He inherits a backfield that includes Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, each returning after 1,000-yard dashing seasons.
Managing large expectations in a operating again room gained’t be new for Drayton — his observe file speaks for itself. His listing of former gamers consists of Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde at Ohio State, Bijan Robinson at Texas, Jerious Norwood at Mississippi State and Brian Westbrook at Villanova. He additionally performed a task in recruiting Cam Newton and the Pouncey twins, Mike and Maurkice, to Florida, per his Temple bio.
Past teaching, Seider left large sneakers to fill in recruiting. He was named 247Sports’ 2023 Huge Ten Recruiter of the 12 months, and Franklin pressured that trait was excessive on his guidelines for a substitute.
“It’s not the end-all be-all, however I believe once we can get someone that’s from both the Northeast or the Huge Ten footprint, that’s vital too,” he stated.
Drayton, with deep roots within the area and an extended historical past of top-tier recruiting, checks that field.
Franklin additionally emphasised the necessity for expertise and not using a decline in trajectory, a key issue that apparently set Drayton aside from different candidates. Whereas some choices could have had robust recruiting chops or participant improvement expertise, few mixed each at an elite degree with the confirmed capability to win at powerhouse packages.
“You sort of discover that candy spot of a man that’s obtained sufficient expertise, each in teaching and in recruiting at this degree, that we’re going to get the return on our funding shortly,” Franklin stated. “That’s the arduous half, discovering that candy spot… however not an excessive amount of that possibly they’re on the downward pattern of their profession as nicely.”
Drayton suits that mildew. He’s coached at each degree, from the NFL to powerhouse school packages, and now, he steps right into a scenario at Penn State the place expertise is already in place. His job isn’t to construct from scratch — it’s to take an already proficient group and push it to championship caliber.
