By: Meghan Gannon, UF Sports Information
It should come as no surprise that University of Florida running backs' coach Stan Drayton is regarded by those in his profession as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country. Drayton has spent the last two years as part of Urban Meyer's coaching staff, recruiting and developing some of the nation's best athletes while developing some of the nation's best characters as well.
But, where does he start the process? The answer is found at the beginning of the process, with fundamentals.
For the last two years, Drayton has blanketed the state of Florida and managed to keep a large portion of the state's homegrown talent in the Sunshine State. He has also transformed those young athletes into a team by beginning with fundamentals on the field.
When training camp began in the middle of August, Drayton stressed the fundamentals first. Not games and championships, but the fundamentals of doing things the right way. Drayton believes that when his athletes have fine-tuned the basics, when they have learned how to be the best football player they can be, then they can begin to focus on winning games.
"If we get to that point, then we can start talking about how to win ballgames," Drayton said. "But, we are not talking about winning another national championship right now; we are just talking about being the best team that we can be."
A year ago, Drayton and the rest of the UF coaching staff never talked about winning a national championship. They refused to look beyond what was in front of them each day, a sentiment that they are duplicating in 2007.
"We didn't talk about it last year,” Drayton explained. “We played Arkansas for the SEC Championship in the Georgia Dome, beat the Razorbacks and then we started thinking about it. You have to take it in a progression.”
Drayton knows all too well that nothing is owed to an athlete. As a Division III All-American at Allegheny (Pa.) College, Drayton personified a dedicated athlete. To this day, he remains Allegheny's leading rusher and scorer, records that he set during his playing days in the early 1990s and also holds the Division III single-season record for touchdowns scored per game with 3.2. His accomplishments on the football field as well as the track, where he was a two-time All-American, serve as testimony to his determination always to improve and always progress forward, traits that he stresses on a daily basis.
While he was a standout athlete, it is Drayton's coaching credentials that speak for themselves. The fact that he has the ability to change a life with the simple idea of progression and dedication to the team and not the individual has become evident in the last two years.
Last season, two of Drayton's running backs saw their NFL dreams become a reality. DeShawn Wynn was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and Billy Latsko signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers. A testimony to Drayton as a person, Wynn paid tribute to not only the type of coach but also the type of individual that Drayton has proven himself to be.
"Coach Drayton changed the way I look at the game of football," said Wynn. "While he helped me improve my game, he also helped me change my attitude and become more of a leader on the team."
Wynn is one of many individuals that Drayton has helped develop as a person. He also knows that there are the select few that need the extra time, the extra effort, the extra push.
"I think that there is a larger percentage of this team that has bought into our philosophy and the way things should be done, but that is why you win ballgames," said Drayton. "There are always going to be a few players that you have to continue to work on."
Early in the season, it is easy for his young recruits to lose focus. It's easy for them to begin looking too far ahead, but Drayton is there to bring them back. His family-oriented style of coaching seems to be the turning point for many individuals and seems to be what changes their mindset. For players like freshman Bo Williams of Oakland Park, Fla., who enrolled at UF in January 2007, the idea of having a coach that offers more off the field is a welcoming feeling.
"Coach Drayton is like a father to me," said Williams. "He invites us to his house for dinner, we go out bowling and we even have movie night sometimes. It's so family-oriented."
Having players become part of his extended family helps ease the challenges of always progressing forward. Drayton is able to continue inspiring and challenging his running backs to become better players, and better people.
"That is why you coach college football," said Drayton. "Sometimes you have to change players' mindsets and have the team doing the types of things that you want to do."
A process that Drayton says is never over.
-UF-
