BREAKING: Wisconsin football star general manager hired away by Big Ten rival

Wisconsin football rising star general manager Max Stienecker has been hired away by the USC Trojans. The move was first reported by FootballScoop’s John Brice, then later confirmed by The Athletic’s Jesse Temple.

The Badgers recently promoted Stienecker to GM in July 2024 after just one year with the program. He originally joined the Wisconsin staff as its player personnel director in January 2023, at the time becoming the youngest to hold the title in the sport’s history (22 years old). He unsurprisingly landed on 247Sports’ 30 Under 30 list following the promotion.

The fast-rising assistant joined the Badgers after beginning his career at Cincinnati under Luke Fickell, most recently as its director of on-campus recruiting from 2021-22. Stienecker spearheaded Wisconsin’s recruiting efforts over the last two-plus cycles. The Badgers finished the 2024 cycle with the nation’s No. 23-ranked class and the program’s first-ever blue-chip ratio of 50%. They followed that output with a strong class of 2025 cycle, finishing ranked No. 25 nationally and No. 8 in the Big Ten.

Fickell, Stienecker and the rest of the Badgers recruiting department have undoubtedly raised the program’s recruiting ceiling during their two-plus years with the program. Stienecker’s loss is a significant one in that regard, especially with him moving to another Big Ten power.

Brice reports that new USC general manager Chad Bowden is hiring the now-former Badger GM to be ‘USC’s executive director of personnel.’ The Trojans are reworking their recruiting department after recently hiring Bowden away from Notre Dame.

Wisconsin now has major shoes to fill with the class of 2026 recruiting cycle set to heat up. The program currently has one player committed in the class: three-star lineman Benjamin Novak.

Badgers 2025 signee four-star Jaylen Williams captured…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/breaking-wisconsin-football-star-general-182945970.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-04 18:29:00

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