Jan. 25, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State Football Coach James Franklin announced today the addition of Ja'Juan Seider, who was most recently the running backs coach at the University of Florida, to the staff as the running backs coach. In addition, defensive line coach Sean Spencer has been elevated to associate head coach and David Corley will now serve as the wide receivers coach.
"As soon as I met Ja'Juan, I knew that he would be a great fit for our staff," Franklin said. "He comes highly recommended from a lot of people in the industry I respect. Ja'Juan has a quiet confidence and a natural charisma that will relate well to our running backs. His experience as a player and a coach will complement our offensive scheme. He is also widely regarded as one of nation's top recruiters and his ties to this region will be beneficial. We are excited to have Ja'Juan and his family join this community."
"My family and I are so excited to join the Penn State staff in Happy Valley," Seider said. "We are honored and privileged to be a part of a football program that is so rich in tradition. I believe Coach Franklin is doing something special here and I can't wait to chase championships in Big Ten country. Hello Nittany Nation. We Are!!"
"For the last seven years, Sean has done a tremendous job coaching and developing talent," Franklin commented. "He is deeply admired by both our players and coaches. Sean's boundless energy, on and off the field, is what makes him unique. I appreciate his loyalty to our program and he is very deserving of this role."
Ja'Juan Seider Bio (Pronounced JAY-juan cider)
- Seider comes to Happy Valley with 10 seasons of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as the running backs coach at the University of Florida.
- At Florida, Seider guided a running backs room that finished with more than 1,500 rushing yards, including a pair of 500-yard rushers, with 13 touchdowns.
- As a unit, the Gator running backs averaged 4.0 yards per carry with freshmen Malik Davis (6.7 ypc) and Adarius Lemons (7.2 ypc) leading the way.
- Prior to his stop in Gainesville, Seider spend three seasons at West Virginia University as the running backs coach where he coached a pair of NFL backs.
- In 2015, Seider guided Wendell Smallwood as he led the Big 12 with 1,519 yards on the way to second-team All-Big 12 accolades. Smallwood was drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Seider was part of an offensive staff that led the Mountaineers to finish ninth in FBS in passing offense, 12th in total offense and 34th in scoring offense in 2014.
- In his first season at WVU, Seider recruited Charles Sims to Morgantown for his final collegiate season. Sims garnered first-team All-Big 12 honors and was the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after rushing for 1,095 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 45 passes for 401 yards and three scores. Sims was the first Mountaineer to rush for 1,000 yards since 2009. He was drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Seider spent three seasons as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Marshall University.
- During his tenure at Marshall, Seider helped the Thundering Herd win the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in 2011 and recruited quarterback Rakeem Cato, who was the 2012 Conference USA Player of the Year.
- Seider joined the college coaching ranks at West Virginia University, where he served as a graduate assistant for two seasons.
- Seider worked with quarterbacks Jarrett Brown, Geno Smith and Pat White during his time in Morgantown. All three quarterbacks spent time in the NFL with White being a second-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft and Smith going in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
- Seider spent seven seasons as a high school football coach in Florida. He was the quarterbacks coach at Lake Worth High School (2006-07), offensive coordinator at Palm Beach Lakes High School (2003-05) and running backs coach at Glades Central High School (2001-02).
- Seider started his collegiate playing career at West Virginia University, but transferred to Florida A&M for his senior season.
- He won the Doug Williams Award for National Offensive Player of the Year, Jake Gaither Award (considered the Heisman Trophy of Historically Black Colleges) and All-America honors after throwing for 2,512 yards and 27 touchdowns in 1999.
- Seider, who was the 1999 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, was selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.
- A native of Belle Glade, Florida, Seider earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from West Virginia in 2000 and a master's degree from WVU in athletic coaching in 2010.
- Seider and his wife, Brandi, have a son, Jaden, and two daughters, Ava and Brennley.
Sean Spencer Bio
- Sean Spencer is entering his fifth season as the Nittany Lions' defensive line coach. He added the title of run game coordinator in 2016 and was elevated to associate head coach following the 2017 season.
- The Nittany Lions posted three consecutive 40-sack seasons (46, 2015; 40, 2016; 42, 2017) for the first time since 2005-07.
- Penn State's defensive line continued its dominance, despite battling injuries in 2017, and finished the season seventh in FBS and first in the Big Ten in sacks per game at a 3.23 average.
- The Wild Dogs contributed to a Nittany Lion defense that was seventh in FBS in scoring defense (16.5), 14th in rushing defense (118.0) and 25th in tackles for loss per game (7.2) in 2017.
- Defensive tackle Parker Cothren claimed All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades and was joined by fellow defensive tackle Curtis Cothran in the East-West Shrine Game.
- Youth was served at the defensive end position as Shareef Miller was named to the Bednarik Award watch list at midseason and Yetur Gross-Matos, Shane Simmons and Shaka Toney all garnered Big Ten Network All-Freshman honorable mention laurels in 2017.
- The Wild Dogs reloaded after graduating three players to the NFL and did not miss a step in 2016, finishing seventh in FBS in tackles for loss (8.1) and 19th in sacks (2.86) to play a pivotal role in Penn State's Big Ten Championship run.
- Junior defensive end Garrett Sickels (second team) and senior defensive end Evan Schwan (third team) collected All-Big Ten laurels after tying for the team lead with 6.0 sacks apiece. Sickels had 12.5 tackles for loss, while Schwan had 8.5 hits behind the line.
- Spencer's influence was front and center in 2015 as the defensive line paced a defense that led FBS in sacks (3.54 spg) and was sixth in tackles for loss (8.2) and 14th in total defense (324.5).
- Under Spencer's guidance former walk-on Carl Nassib burst onto the national scene, winning the Rotary Lombardi Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Hendricks Award and Woodson-Nagurski Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while breaking the Penn State single-season sacks record with 15.5 in 2015. Nassib also became Penn State's 13th unanimous Consensus All-American.
- Defensive tackles Austin Johnson (second team) and Anthony Zettel (third team) garnered 2015 All-Big Ten honors.
- Spencer was selected a finalist for Football Scoop's Defensive Line Coach of the Year in 2014, as he led a unit that helped Penn State finish third in FBS rushing defense (100.5) and second in total defense (278.7).
- Spencer mentored Zettel to first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2014 after recording 17.0 tackles for loss, including 8.0 sacks, and a team-best tying three interceptions.
- During his 2011-13 tenure at Vanderbilt, Spencer's defensive lines helped Vanderbilt finish in the Top 25 in total defense all three years.
- The Commodores recorded 28, 31 and 28 sacks under Spencer, with the D-Line posting 42.5 tackles for loss in 2013.
- Spencer mentored defensive end Caleb Azubike, who set a Vanderbilt true freshman record with four sacks in 2012 and was named to the ESPN.com SEC All-Freshman team.
- Spencer coached the Bowling Green defensive line in 2009-10, where he mentored Chris Jones to All-Mid-American Conference honors and helped the Falcons to the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, despite not returning a single starter on the defensive line.
- Jones emerged as a starter for the New England Patriots in 2013, recording six sacks, and played the second-highest number of snaps among NFL rookie defensive tackles.
- Spencer has had two stints at Massachusetts, coaching the defensive line in 2007-08 and in 2001-03, also coordinating the special teams during his second stint with the Minutemen.
- He also has coached at Hofstra (2006), Villanova (2005), Holy Cross (2004), where he worked with Ricky Rahne, Trinity College (1998-2000), Shippensburg (1996-97) and Wesleyan (1995).
- Spencer has a daughter, Alysia.
David Corley Bio
- Corley joined the Nittany Lion coaching staff in January 2018.
- Corley helped the Black Knights to a second-straight bowl win and the Commander in Chief's Trophy in 2017.
- Army won back-to-back bowl games for just the second time in school history and claimed the Commander in Chief's Trophy for the first time since 1996. The Black Knights also tied the school record with 10 wins.
- Prior to his stint at Army, Corley was at the University of Connecticut for three seasons where he served in a variety of roles, including running backs coach, special teams coordinator, wide receivers coach and director of player engagement.
- In his final season with the Huskies, Corley guided Arkeel Newsome to more than 1,400 all-purpose yards with 715 rushing yards and five touchdowns to go along with 273 receiving yards.
- He also served as the offensive coordinator for the Huskies for the final month of the season.
- In Corley's season as the wide outs coach in 2015, he helped Noel Thomas see his production double from the previous season with 719 yards on 54 receptions with a trio of touchdowns.
- In his role as the special teams coordinator, Corley led the Huskies' punt return defense to a top-20 national ranking.
- In 2014, Corley helped Newsome become the first UConn true freshman to accumulate 1,000 all-purpose yards since 2002.
- Corley spent six seasons on staff at his alma mater, William & Mary, before heading the UConn.
- As the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2013, he guided Tre McBride to first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) recognition. McBride was the first Tribe wide out in more than a decade to claim first-team honors.
- He served as the quarterbacks coach from 2010-12.
- In his two seasons (2008-09) as the running backs coach at W&M, Corley mentored Jonathan Grimes, who broke freshman records for both rushing and all-purpose yards and eventually jumped into the program's top-10 in career rushing and rushing touchdowns as a sophomore. He graduated as the most decorated player in CAA history with 11 all-conference honors in his career.
- Corley played in the CFL for Calgary Stampeders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also played for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League.
- Corley was a four-year starter at quarterback for William & Mary, where he broke the program's career records for passing yards (9,805), total offense (10,948) and touchdown passes (73).
- He earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was a three-time all-conference honoree (second team in 2001 and 2002; third team in 2000).
- In 2001, he guided the Tribe to an Atlantic 10 title and NCAA Playoff appearance as he threw for 2,808 yards and 21 touchdowns.
- A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, he graduated from William & Mary with a degree in history in 2002.
- Corley was inducted into the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
- Corley and his wife, Lindsay, have a daughter, Charlie, and son, Bishop.
Penn State season ticket renewals and Nittany Lion Club membership renewals also are underway for the 2018 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU. The ticket invoice and Nittany Lion Club renewal deadline is Feb. 1, 2018. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2018 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.
Nearly 3,100 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2018 campaign.