Penn State Sports Magazine
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M A R C H 2 0 2 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M N ew Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton slipped the statement in with casual confidence. In his first in-house interview after joining the Nittany Lion football program in Febru- ary, the 32-year veteran of the coaching profession said he has two absolute pri- orities for his pupils. The first is to protect the football. The second is to protect the quarterback. Any running back hoping to have a suc- cessful college career under Drayton's tutelage will need to do both at a high level. "There's no way you can win a football game by giving the ball to the opponent. That's not how the ball is designed," he said. "If you're trying to obtain big things — and we're going for a national championship this year — we cannot be giving our opponent an ad- vantage because we can't protect the football. That just does not work." The topic is one Drayton understands from firsthand experience. He was a Division III All-America running back at Allegheny College and has 25 years of experience coaching running backs, with five seasons spent in the NFL. Some of the game's most notable pros over the past two decades are Drayton protégés. Still, at a moment for Penn State in which its aspirations are spoken with matter-of-fact honesty, it's the "national championship" aside that demands attention. Drayton has been a participant in two national titles as a coach — first at Florida during the 2006 season and again with Ohio State in 2014. For the Nittany Lions, that at- tribute is particularly important ahead of the 2025 campaign, as evidenced by the program's personnel moves this offseason. That title-winning pedigree is shared by the team's other recent hire — defen- sive coordinator Jim Knowles. Fresh off a College Football Playoff championship with Ohio State, the new leader on the defensive side of the ball brings a mind- set shaped entirely around attaining the ultimate prize in the sport. "I'm at that point in my career where you focus solely on the job at hand, and my aspiration is to help Penn State win the national championship and be the No. 1 defense in the country," Knowles said. "And that's really all I'm focused on. That's not just talk. That's the truth. I don't have any aspirations beyond that." The mindset that Knowles and Dray- ton are bringing to their jobs syncs up with Penn State's goals as a program. The presence of those coaches in State College is itself an indication of where PSU sees itself headed. Going into James Franklin's 12th sea- son as head coach, the Nittany Lions are at a point of all-in investment. That was a bone of contention for the head coach earlier in his tenure, but athletics director Patrick Kraft has provided the program with the support it needs to achieve its highest goals. Penn State, in every sense, is of the belief that each move it makes could be the incremental push that tips the scales in its favor. For Kraft, that means ensur- ing Franklin is able to think big when he's looking to fill a staff vacancy. "Go get the best coordinators you can," Kraft said. "The coordinators set the tone. It's James' team. James is the CEO. And I think James has done a masterful job of building the best staff in the country. "Why would I shortchange it? You've got a chance to go get the best coordina- tor. And I think we have two of the best coordinators in the country. … I believe you have to have strong leaders in the offensive and defensive rooms to help give you the best chance to succeed. And we don't make those decisions lightly. "For me, it was a no-brainer with Jim Knowles," he added. "We're going to give ourselves the best chance of win- ning. We're going to do it by any means necessary, and we're going to do it the right way." Penn State is looking to create a cul- ture in which national title aspirations are a byproduct of the work that players and coaches put in every day. It cer- tainly helps when people like Drayton and Knowles, who have been part of championship-winning programs, view those goals as realistic. ■ New running backs coach Stan Drayton was part of two national championship teams, winning titles with Florida in 2006 and Ohio State in 2014. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ Recent Coaching Hires Illustrate Penn State's Ambitions