STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- When Ja'Juan Seider walks into a high school in South Florida, he does so with a knowledge base that extends well beyond years of college coaching.
In many ways it's a homecoming, of sorts, for the Belleglade, Fla., native, who played his high school ball at Glades Central. Seider also knows what it's like to sit on the other side of the desk during a high school visit, having spent eight years as a high school football coach before becoming a graduate assistant at West Virginia and climbing the college ranks.
"I’ve been doing this thing long enough that I’ve got friends at a lot of places," Seider, Penn State's newly appointed running backs coach said this week. "I’m there to build a relationship with that coach too. If I got to sit down and whatever it may be – Xs and Os or a nice restaurant, wherever it may be I always make time for the coach because they’re giving me time. I think a lot of people make that mistake because they just stop in there to see a player and then they’re out and then you never hear from that guy again."
Penn State's key to finding success on the recruiting trail in the talent-rich South Florida area will largely fall on Seider. He knows the territory better than anyone on staff and comes to Penn State after spending last year coaching running backs at the University of Florida. It's the type of hire James Franklin said marks a shift in how Penn State will approach recruiting that area, the type of addition that in all reality helped lessen the blow of the staff's top recruiter, Josh Gattis, departing for Alabama last month.
"We have recruited Florida in the past, but obviously, once you make this decision, you're going to recruit it harder," Franklin said. "He's going to get us into some doors because of his relationships and his reputation that maybe we weren't involved in before."
Whether that shift results in one player per class or maybe three remains to be seen as Penn State's recruiting footprint certainly won't move away from the 3.5 hour radius around Central Pennsylvania. But, there's no denying this hire gets them in the mix for some South Florida talent and, based off Seider's recruiting track record and Penn State's overall success, it could be a pairing that's happening at the right time.
"It gives us a chance to compete and to go down there and get a couple kids here and there that may be difference makers who we don’t have in our yard for whatever reason that year," Seider said. "That’s what Ohio State doing, that’s what Michigan doing, that’s what Notre Dame doing, the teams that we actually compete against. So why not go to Florida? Especially with the way the kids get developed down there with the spring practice, the extra reps they get.”
From Seider's perspective, getting South Florida kids to come out of the warm and into the cold won't be any different than it was when he recruited them to West Virginia. Weather, a factor he said some warm-weather schools like to try to use as a negative recruiting tool, doesn't carry that much weight in the long run when players who have NFL aspirations realize they can't stay in the sun forever.
While finding players that fit what Penn State needs is one thing, Franklin had to first figure out if Seider would fit in with his staff.
"Ja'Juan is a guy that I knew more about his reputation and then there was some guys on our staff that he had a relationship with," Franklin said. "We went through the interview process and guys had done a good job, but Ja'Juan kind of blew us away."
Part of what impressed Franklin was Seider's background and recruiting success, but him wanting to be at Penn State was also part of it. Seider's wife is from West Virginia, so this move made a little more sense for his family, too.
Then, there's also 5-star running back Ricky Slade. Slade signed with Penn State in December thinking Charles Huff, now at Mississippi State, would be his running backs coach. Penn State announced Huff would be replaced by David Corley before Corley moved to wide receivers coach to make way for Seider.
Franklin said in December he spoke with Slade and his family about making sure he'd go out and hire the best possible position coach for them. Seider recruited Slade to West Virginia, so he at least has some familiarity with him.
"I knew of him and we had a relationship and he was actually coming down to see me at West Virginia on junior day, and then he came to junior day up here and committed and then the rest of that story is history," Seider said. "I knew of him. I recruited him for a little while and knew he was talented, and they did a good job of keeping the kid home.”
Getting more kids to leave their home region to help round out Penn State's future plans will be part of Penn State's new challenge in the Sunshine State. But, it's a challenge Franklin is thrilled to be a part of.
"When you get a stamp of approval it doesn't matter if you're from West Virginia, Virginia, Florida or wherever," Seider said. "They want to be surrounded by good people. I think guys know down there that when kids play for me — when I recruited them at Marshall, West Virginia and University of Florida — I had done right by the kids, and the families trusted me. I think any time you can pick the phone up and somebody that you coached or recruited can vouch for me, it helps you in recruiting regardless of what area it is."
