Michigan State hires Mark Diethorn as director of player personnel and recruiting

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State announced on Monday the hiring of Mark Diethorn as the football tam’s new executive director of player personnel and recruiting.

Deithorn (pronounced DEE-thorn) comes to Michigan State after serving in the player personnel area at Virginia Tech (2018-21), Pitt (2012-17) and Florida (2009-10).

Deithorn replaces Saeed Khalif, who held the title “General Manager/Executive Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting” from June of 2021 through March of 2023. Khalif was relieved of his duties last month.

“Mark has a vision and a passion for recruiting and understands what it takes to be successful at this level,” Tucker said in a statement released on Monday. “He has also shown the ability to identify talent in the transfer portal. He’s very organized and has a thorough process for evaluating players and managing a roster. I’m excited for Mark to hit the ground running and make an impact on our program.”

At Virginia Tech, Deithorn oversaw daily recruiting and personnel operations, including campus visits, prospect evaluations, roster management, coaches road travel, recruiting board and database organization, summer camps and prospect admissions. He is expected to oversee many of those duties at Michigan State.

He was also responsible for monitoring the transfer portal, and helped the Hokies bring in several top transfers, including running back Khalil Herbert from Kansas in 2020, who led the ACC in all-purpose yards and was selected in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. In 2019, Diethorn helped the Hokies bring in a top 25 recruiting class according to Rivals.

When head coach Justin Fuente was fired at Virginia Tech in November of 2021, Virginia Tech hired Brent Pry as the new head coach, from Penn State. Pry brought in his own staff and Diethorn was not retained, making him available to Michigan State during the Spartans’ recent search for a new director of player personnel and recruiting.

Deithorn, a native of Belle Vernon, Pa., began his tenure at Pitt as a recruiting assistant in 2012. He took on additional responsibilities when Pat Narduzzi was named head coach in 2015 when he was promoted to director of recruiting.

At Pitt, he was responsible for planning and executing all aspects of Pitt’s recruiting and personnel strategy. Following his promotion by Narduzzi, the Panthers signed their best recruiting class in eight years according to Rivals and ESPN.

While at Pitt, Diethorn played a role in helping acquire 31 players who would go on to play in the National Football League, including NFL Draft draftees WR Tyler Boyd, RB James Conner, G Dorian Johnson, DB Avonte Maddox, QB Nathan Peterman, T Brian O’Neill and DB Jordan Whitehead. 

Diethorn served as a scouting and player personnel intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers during their 2017 training camp. Under the direction of general manager Kevin Colbert, Diethorn evaluated college prospects for the Steelers’ player personnel department.

Prior to his stint at Pitt, Diethorn worked as a football recruiting assistant at Florida from 2009-10 under Urban Meyer. He assisted the Gators’ coaching staff during recruiting periods and handled campus visits, in addition to managing Florida’s recruiting database. He contributed to the signing of two top-12 recruiting classes, including the Gators’ 2010 class that was ranked No. 1 nationally by Scout and ESPN.

Diethorn holds a master’s degree in sport management from Florida and an MBA from Pitt. He earned his B.S. in business information technology from Virginia Tech in 2007 and also owns experience working in the private sector, including an appointment as a business analyst for PNC Financial Group.