Key Penn State Football assistant staying put, report says

Ja’Juan Seider is one of the most important members of Penn State Football coach James Franklin’s staff, and after multiple overtures, is staying in Happy Valley

Penn State Football running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider will stay with the Nittany Lions after being pursued by Florida, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports.

Seider has been the running backs coach since 2018, when he took over for Charles Huff, who took a job at Alabama. Seider has overseen the development of the likes of Miles Sanders, Journey Brown and Noah Cain.

His ties to Florida is a big reason why the Gators went after Seider as hard as they did. Seider has been in key in the Nittany Lions landing Caziah Holmes, Keyvone Lee, Noah Cain, Kaytron Allen, Zane Durant and Cam Miller, all Florida recruits. He is considered Penn State’s ace recruiter because of these recruiting victories in addition to beating out Notre Dame for Nick Singleton this past Summer.

This past season was a tough one for Seider, as Penn State failed to find a consistent run game and did not have a 100-yard rusher in a single game in 2021. Despite the struggles in 2021, Penn State certainly did not want to lose Seider with his track record as a talent developer and a recruiter.

Penn State Football head coach James Franklin has already had to replace his defensive coordinator and special team’s coordinator this off-season, he has to be pleased that he does not have another critical staff vacancy to fill.