Blue White Illustrated

Penn State's coaching sta7 has undergone a series of changes in recent months, with Joe Moorhead, Charles Hu7 and Josh Gattis departing for schools in the Southeastern Conference, and David Corley, Ja'Juan Seider, Tyler Bowen and Phil Galiano joining the sta7. The most recent addition was Seider, who was announced on Jan. 25 as the Nittany Lions' new running backs coach. Initially, Corley was set to coach the run- ning backs, but he had worked with Army's wide receivers last year and took over that position group at Penn State following Seider's arrival. Seider was brought aboard a8er spending the 2017 season at Florida. A Belle Glade, Fla., native, he spent the previous four seasons at West Virginia, his alma mater, where he coached the running backs. Before that, he was run- ning backs coach and recruiting coordi- nator at Marshall. Along with his work in the back6eld at Penn State, Seider will recruit Florida, northern Virginia, Erie and portions of Ohio. On signing day earlier this month, Sei- der spoke to the media for the 6rst time since his arrival in University Park. Here's what he had to say: ON RICKY SLADE I recruited Ricky when I was at West Virginia [in 2016], so I knew of him. We had a little relation- ship, and actually he was supposed to come to see me at West Virginia for a junior day, but instead he came to [Penn State] and then he committed. The rest of that story is history. I knew of the kid, recruited him for a little while, and I knew he was talented. ON HIS INTERVIEW WITH FRANKLIN It's always about being yourself and being con6dent in what you do and just being you. I've been coaching long enough – being a coach's kid and playing at every level – [to know that] football is football. Sometimes we get caught up in X's and O's, but a lot of times it's about 6t. To come in and look a guy in the eye and understand, you know what, you're going to 6t in my sta7. You don't come in with an ego. Show Coach what you can do and not what everyone else wants you to do. To me, that's how I always carry myself. Treat people how you want to be treated. Things like that, that's your everyday life. And I know football. I played quarterback on every level. It starts with that position. I was a coach's kid, but I studied the game and didn't take shortcuts to get here. I think I can talk football with the best of them. ON RECRUITING I have friends at a lot of places. I take time out when I go to schools, when I'm visiting schools for the 6rst time. I might be late getting somewhere else, but I'm going to make sure that coach knows that I'm not there just for that player; I'm there to build a relationship with that coach, too. If I have to sit down [and talk] X's and O's at a nice restaurant, whatever it might be, I always make time for the coach because they're giving me time. A lot of people make that mistake. They just stop in and see the player and they're out and they never hear from that guy. I just try to do the right things, even if it's writing a let- ter to let them know I'm the area re- cruiter, whatever it might be to build that relationship. So even though you're a stranger, you're not a stranger when you walk into that building. –T.O. C O A C H S P E A K New assistant Seider brings RB expertise, Florida ties JA'JUAN SEIDER

• Cover