Running backs coach Stan Drayton speaks with the media on Feb. 4 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Credit: Tim Moody / Sports editor
Ohio State running backs coach Stan Drayton is heading to the Chicago Bears, the NFL franchise announced Thursday.
The Bears said Drayton will have the same title as he did with the Buckeyes.
Drayton spent the past four seasons with OSU, capped by the team’s run to the College Football Playoff National Championship this year. He’s the second offensive assistant to leave the Buckeyes this offseason, after former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman accepted the head coaching position at Houston.
I learned a valuable lesson from this Championship team =Be thankful for opportunity. Embrace it. Attack it with intentions of seizing it.
— Stan Drayton (@OSUcoachDrayton) February 5, 2015
I will forever love my young men and the effort they display everyday. And I love The Ohio State University. Go Bucks!
— Stan Drayton (@OSUcoachDrayton) February 5, 2015
The Cleveland native coached each of the first two 1,000-yard running backs under OSU coach Urban Meyer. Former Buckeye Carlos Hyde gained 1,521 yards and scored 15 touchdowns on the ground under Drayton in 2013, while sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott racked up 1,878 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns this season.
Drayton also helped secure the commitment of four-star running back Mike Weber from Detroit’s Cass Tech High School. Weber signed his letter of intent to play for the Buckeyes on Wednesday, when Drayton said he and Meyer were on the phone recruiting Weber past midnight the night before.
I’m hurt as hell I ain’t gone lie
— Mike Weber (@mikeweber25) February 5, 2015
The news of Drayton’s departure was first reported Thursday by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, while Eleven Warriors reported that Drayton interviewed with the Bears Thursday morning.
