Wisconsin football is hiring North Texas’ Ethan Russo as its next director of player personnel, the news first reported by 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
The hire fills the vacancy created when general manager Max Stienecker left for a prominent role at USC. While the program hired Marcus Sedberry to carry the official general manager designation, his background is primarily in administrative roles, both at Wisconsin (2023-24) and Baylor (2017-22). Stienecker was a recruiting ace before growing into Wisconsin’s GM position. With his departure, the program had an additional need at the top of the recruiting department.
Russo joined the North Texas staff in July 2023 as an assistant director of player personnel. He quickly rose to director of scouting in February 2024, then to director of player personnel in August 2024. He previously held player personnel-related roles at UNLV (2022), Utah (2019-21) and Rice (2018).
Russo and his staff will face their first major task when the spring transfer window opens from April 16 to 25. The Badgers put together a strong winter transfer class, headlined by quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., tight end Tanner Koziol and an entirely new-look defensive line. They will likely search for a few more impact additions before finalizing the roster entering fall camp.
Wisconsin is currently in the middle of spring practice, beginning preparation for a 2025 season that may prove critical to Fickell’s future with the program.
