Wisconsin Badgers hire Ethan Russo as the football program's Director of Player Personnel

The University of Wisconsin football program is continuing its rebuild—both on the field and behind the scenes.

And while this latest addition to the staff might not draw a ton of attention, it’s still an important piece of the puzzle.

According to a report from Matt Zenitz, the Badgers are expected to hire Ethan Russo as the program’s new Director of Player Personnel—something BadgerNotes was able to confirm through a source.

Turns out, a family connection helped get Russo’s foot in the door at Wisconsin.

“My younger brother [Colin Russo] is actually a strength intern for the staff,” Russo shared. “He passed along my info when they were going through staff changes. I went through the interview process, and fortunately it all worked out.”

Russo comes from North Texas, where he joined the staff in 2023 and was promoted to Director of Player Personnel ahead of the 2024 season after initially serving as assistant director. In that role, Russo oversaw all aspects of the Mean Green’s recruiting efforts under Eric Morris.

At North Texas, Russo wasn’t just overseeing recruiting—he was running the entire operation. From film evaluations and roster projections to NIL strategy and managing a team of eight in the recruiting department, he had his hands in every facet of personnel management.

Before that, Russo held player personnel roles at UNLV, Utah, and Rice—with internships in the NFL for both the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns.

While at UNLV, Russo oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Runnin’ Rebels personnel department, managing the roster, evaluating prospects, monitoring the transfer portal, and assisting with key recruiting efforts at the high school level.

At Rice, Russo got his start in the personnel world as a Player Personnel & Recruiting Analyst back in 2018. He supported the Director of Recruiting with talent evaluation, managing the recruiting board, coordinating visit logistics, and scheduling out graphics. It was an entry-level role—but one that gave Russo early exposure to just about every piece of the college football recruiting operation.

That’s the headline. But the context behind the hire is just as important.

This move to add Russo comes on the heels of a significant change in Wisconsin’s recruiting department.

Max Steinecker—who played a pivotal role in helping Wisconsin land back-to-back Top 30 recruiting classes (No. 23 in 2024 and No. 27 in 2025, according to the 247Sports Composite)—departed for USC.

That was a major loss for the staff.

Steinecker had built a strong reputation as a marketer and relationship builder while operating as the engine behind a lot of the Wisconsin football program's recruiting success under head coach Luke Fickell.

He followed Fickell over from Cincinnati, starting as the Badgers' Director of Player Personnel, and then was promoted to General Manager in 2024. Steinecker's exit left two big questions: how would Wisconsin replace him, and could they maintain their upward trajectory?

Step one came when Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer Marcus Sedberry was promoted to GM. Step two is now Ethan Russo.

And this one makes a lot of sense.

"We are excited to welcome Ethan to our talent evaluation and recruiting team," said Sedberry. "He will be focusing primarily on roster planning, roster evaluation, advance scouting, and assist in recruiting efforts.”

Russo’s track record reflects continuous growth through the personnel ranks. He’s worked in both traditional high school scouting and portal evaluation. He helped build two top-35 recruiting classes at Utah—where the Utes went on to win the Pac-12 in 2021—and added 15 impact transfers during his time at UNLV. Simply put, Russo’s done this before.

“I think it's still developmental,” Fickell said of Russo’s role. “We're trying to figure all that stuff out and how all those guys fit together. The most important thing is whether it's a title or not—let's figure out what guys strong suits are, and then let's make sure we get them into those lanes.

"And I think in his role in particular, it'll be a little bit more focused on our team, evaluating our team on a consistent basis, seeing how guys are developing and projecting out two and three years to make sure we're kind of using checks and balances across the board.”

With Steinecker gone, the Badgers have effectively covered their bases—bringing in someone to handle the high-level personnel management without sacrificing their much-needed boots-on-the-ground recruiting presence.

It gives Wisconsin a dedicated personnel voice to handle the day-to-day recruiting responsibilities—something Russo has proven capable of at other stops—while allowing Sedberry to shift more of his focus toward roster construction, internal operations, and long-term strategy.

It’s a complementary setup that gives the Badgers some much-needed structure behind the scenes for this new era.

Now, Russo steps into a Wisconsin football program that’s been aggressive in its roster-building approach under Fickell—but with limited success so far. The Badgers are 12-13 over the past two seasons and just missed a bowl game for the first time in over two decades.

And with Sedberry overseeing the big picture and Russo leading player evaluation and recruiting operations, there’s a structure in place that mirrors what other successful programs around the country are doing.

But here’s where it gets real.

If you want to compete at the highest level in college football—especially in the portal era—recruiting has to be elite. That’s not an opinion. That’s data.

Eight of the last nine national champions have averaged top-10 recruiting classes over a three-year stretch. The schools that play for titles? They’re often the ones stacked with future NFL draft picks.

And while there’s always an exception or two—Wisconsin fans know that better than anyone—history says the teams playing for trophies in January are built through relentless talent acquisition.

However, retaining your talent, building a strong culture, and developing players—even the ones who aren’t as highly ranked—still matters just as much.

It’s not just about uncovering undervalued recruits or building culture (though both still matter). In today’s game, it’s about stacking talent. Reloading, not rebuilding. And doing it year after year after year.

Now, to be clear—I’m not saying Wisconsin needs to be in the playoff conversation every year. But if breaking through is the goal, you’ve got to start closing the gap. Moves like this might not grab headlines, but they’re part of investing in the process it takes to compete at the highest level.

With NIL resources finally moving in the right direction and a restructured front office that includes Russo, Sedberry, Director of Scouting Pat Lambert, and assistant directors Zach Zilm and Brandon Rose, Wisconsin has the bones of a rock-solid recruiting department.

The 2026 class will be the first full cycle under this revamped front office—and the third under Coach Fickell. More than anything, it’ll serve as our first true glimpse at how this operation functions without Steinecker as a lead recruiter.

Time will tell if the Russo hire pans out—but this much is clear: Fickell and Wisconsin know what needs to be done. They’re building the infrastructure. They’re adapting. And they’re not pretending recruiting doesn’t matter.

Because in this era, it absolutely does.

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Wisconsin football set to hire Ethan Russo as…