South Carolina Football Looking to Name Penn State's Stan Drayton as the Next Running Backs Coach

Nov 22, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer reacts to a play against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

South Carolina Football Looking to Name Penn State's Stan Drayton as the Next Running Backs Coach

Originally posted on South Carolina Gamecocks on SI
By Alex Joyce | Last updated Dec 10, 2025 11:03 AM ET

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South Carolina continues it's overhaul of the offensive staff, as Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks are targeting and looking to name Stan Drayton as the team's next running backs coach, per On3 Sports' Pete Nakos. Should Drayton accept the role he will join the staff in Columbia following the departure of Marquel Blackwell on Dec 4.

This is the third running backs coach to join the program in Beamer's tenure, a list that includes Montario Hardesty (2021-2023) and Blackwell (2024-2025). Drayton has been coaching for 32 years, with 25 of those years teaching running backs. His stops included Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Florida, and Mississippi State.

Bringing Championship Caliber Experience

South Carolina is targeting Penn State's Stan Drayton as its next running backs coach, sources tell @On3sports.

The former Temple head coach spent one season in State College, working with running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.https://t.co/EOA6vwRNug pic.twitter.com/8XBPhazXQD
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) December 10, 2025

In his early coaching tenure, Drayton was a part of two national championship squads (Florida and Ohio State). He is an excellent recruiter bringing in players like Cam Newton to Florida and Bijan Robinson to Texas. South Carolina is getting one of the best recruiters in the country along with a proven developer.

Drayton helped develop players like Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Keaontay Ingram while at Texas. This season at Penn State. Nicholas Singleton carried the ball 123 times for 549 yards and 13 touchdowns. His counterpart Kaytron Allen 210 carries for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns.

This isn't the first time Drayton and South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has crossed paths. Both guys were in Starkville together at Mississippi State in 2004. Drayton is the latest offensive staff hire that also included TCU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to the same role on Monday, and TCU assistant offensive line coach Randy Clements as the team's new offensive line coach.

Running the ball was a struggle all year long for a Gamecocks squad that finished near the bottom of the SEC in every major statistical category. This season the team averaged 111.08 rushing yards per game (15th in the SEC), 3.24 yards per carry (last in the SEC), and 1,333 total rushing yards (15th in the SEC) despite being 10th in rushing attempts in conference (411).

This article first appeared on South Carolina Gamecocks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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