Stan Drayton was a 22-year-old who had his first taste of the coach at Allegheny College, where he had played the three previous seasons.
Ken O’Keefe, then the Gators head coach, can remember having educated Drayton and some other graduate assistants whom he expected to visit six secondary schools every day for a week.
O’Keefe said that Drayton was then intense and devoted, just as he was throughout his 32 -year career.
Drayton was responsible for recruiting the Cleveland region, where it comes from. About 10 km from the Allegheny campus in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the Drayton rental car obtained a flat tire.
“He returns at the end of the week,” said O’Keefe. “I discovered that he was driving to Cleveland and led all week on a donut (temporary emergency tire).” Stan, what happened? Why didn’t you go back, I came back here and repair it?
“The coach, you said we had to hit six schools a day. How did I go to each school? It tells you who he is.
The 54 of Drayton now and in his first season as a coach coach in Penn State, hired to train the All-season all-season Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
“It was really good,” said Singleton. “His curriculum vitae talks about himself. He told us that he would be there for us every time we need him.
Drayton replaced Ja’juan Seider, who left Penn State after seven seasons to join the staff of Notre Dame and who had recruited and supervised Singleton and Allen. Drayton was in similar situations and admitted that they can be difficult.
“I’m still gaining their confidence,” he said. “It is competence and consistency. These are the guys who believe that I can help them get to where they want to go. It is the coherence in which I am as a person and my character and make sure that they see the same person every day. ”
Drayton trained in the NFL with Green Bay and Chicago and at the university with eastern Michigan, Penn, Villanova, Bowling Green, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Syracuse, Ohio State, Texas and Temple, where he was the chief coach of the last three seasons.
He built a reputation for whisperer as a ball carrier, causing players such as Brian Westbrook, Jerious Norwood, Carlos Hyde, Ezekiel Elliott, Matt Forte, Jordan Howard, Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
He thinks that Singleton and Allen are as talented as any duo of Backfield he has trained. He understands that their goal is to win a national championship and become the best recovery choices.
“These guys want great things about their careers,” said Drayton. “They want to go to the League and do great things, so there is no time for the stuffed animals. There is no dressing or conversations coated with sugar.
“I am very, very direct and very, very demanding. These guys have received it. It is a sign of very great players and an excellent relationship of relationships between the three of us. ”
Drayton was once in their shoes. He has never played attacker’s football until he was a second year student at John Marshall high school in Cleveland. He was small (5-9) and received only one division I offering from Akron.
“I was a late flowering,” he recalls. “I didn’t know how good I was. Ken O’Keefe came to John Marshall to recruit me. He was simply consistent. He was the only coach to have contacted my mother.
“They were the only coaches to paint an overview for life after four years of college for me. They had a clear plan of the way they were going to rise as a young man. This has become more important to me than the Akron scholarship offer. ”
He was the third round back of the first All-America team and helped Algheny won the 1990 NCAA Division III Championship. He stayed second at school for ground yards (3,272), touched on the ground (54) and the score (336 points). He was also an All-American sprinter twice on track.
“The guy was a model to follow for everyone, whether in the field, in the bodybuilding room or in class,” said O’Keefe. “Stanley did not come as an incredible student, but he found ways to improve and improve. He always does it. He graduated in four years. He did a great job at school.
“He was a model for his teammates because of his work ethics and his positive attitude. It was something very special. ”
The Pittsburgh steelers invited Drayton to a training session, where he ran a 4.38 in the 40 yard dashboard. But it was the end of his NFL experience as a player.
“They wanted to see if I could kicks, but I had medium-sized hands,” he said. “They started to do ball and I put one on the ground. I didn’t expect much. At that time, I knew I was going to be a lawyer or coach. ”
Joe Philbin was the offensive coordinator of O’Keefe at Algheny, where he joined the staff of the second year of Drayton. Later in his career, he was the offensive coordinator of Green Bay when the Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011, then the head coach of Miami Dolphins for Four Seasons.
Philbin saw something in Drayton who, according to him, would make him a successful coach. He convinced O’Keefe to hire him and taught him the basics of the drying board.
“Immediately, I could say that he had a talent for training,” said Philbin. “It turned out to be the case during his career. As a player, even if he was very talented, he was a very, very fierce worker. He has always asked many questions. He was very detailed.
“We thought he had very good potential. He was a good communicator, which, in our view, would serve him in coaching. ”
Drayton was still planning to become a lawyer after serving an internship in Washington. But once he took the LSAT and fought, he turned to career training.
“When Joe put on the board, it immediately made sense to me,” he said. “My only hesitation was:” How will I hell tell my parents that I went to Algheny College for four years to be a coach? “
“Joe had already opened my senses there. I loved the game and I knew I was not ready to move away from it. The piece of coaching made a lot of sense. ”
Drayton succeeded in most of his judgments, especially as an assistant coach in the Florida National Championship teams (2006) and Ohio State (2014). He resulted in seven rushers of 1,000 yards, five choice of recovery from the NFL and two All-American.
“I’m really proud of him,” said Philbin. “He’s just a classy guy. You want your children to play for someone like that. This is the kind of guy you want to be there. ”
It is not surprising that Drayton’s wife, Monique Fuller-Drayton, and their two daughters, Amari and Anaya, are athletes. Amari is a gymnast in Lsu and Anaya is a recent high school graduate who plans to run the track at Penn State.
Fuller-Drayton is the athletics champion of the Masters of the United States in the 400-meter reigning and silver medalist in 200.
“It is difficult to see my daughters compete, especially Amari,” said Drayton. “Gymnastics is such a brutal sport. It is difficult for me to sit when they are in competition. At the same time, it’s very, very rewarding.
“It’s so much easier to look at my wife. It’s so fun to look at her. She is 52 years old and trains with my daughter (Anaya) every day. My wife is fierce competition. “
The same goes for Drayton, which is why his three years at Temple, where the OWLS went 9-25, left him in search of a better situation to work. He found it in Penn State, who hopes to win the Big Ten and National titles.
“I know that I am on a road that will have nests-of-poule and obstacles along the way,” he said. “I just endure them. When another opportunity (to be head coach) presents itself, I will be ready.
“But I’m at 10 toes at the moment. My goal n ° 1 at the moment obtains Nick (Singleton) and ‘Fat’ (Allen) and this team in a championship. This is my only goal. I am really happy where I am.”
Longtime offensive coordinator and Iowa quarter coach before his retirement, O’Keefe proudly watched Drayton’s trip. He believes he can make a difference with Nittany lions.
“This guy is an impressive person,” said O’Keefe. “He has a huge gratitude for all his different experiences. He has a great woman and great children. If there is a guy, I would like my son to grow up and be like, it’s Stanley Drayton.
“He is incredible. He has the right character. He is a man of integrity. He is whatever you want.”
