Will Redmond leaving LSU, joining Auburn's football staff in recruiting, personnel role

AUBURN — Will Redmond is joining Auburn football’s staff in a high-ranking position dealing with recruiting and personnel, sources confirm to Auburn Live.

The position will be a General Manager-type role, sources tell Auburn Live. Redmond is currently the Director of Player Personnel at LSU.

Redmond’s position will likely help identify candidates for coaching and other roles in the organization for Hugh Freeze, and help oversee scouting, personnel research and recruiting.

The rise of the transfer portal and NIL have created an absolute need for a GM-like position. Like the Director of Player Personnel position that started nearly 20 years ago, the GM position is the next evolution inside college football programs.

Redmond will arrive after spending the last two-plus years at LSU, serving as their Director of Player Personnel. Broadly, he was in charge of personnel research and strategy. Redmond maintained LSU’s recruiting board, identifying players from across the country as potential prospects. He also oversaw prospect evaluations and monitored prospects throughout the year.

Redmond took over the Director of Player Personnel role at LSU early in 2022 was retained by Brian Kelly. Redmond helped rebuild the LSU roster from 39 scholarship players following Ed Orgeron‘s departure to winning the SEC West in 2022.

In August of 2023, Redmond was given the 2022 Player Personnel Director of the Year Award by FootballScoop.com. LSU landed the No. 4 transfer portal class according to the On3 Sports Transfer Portal rankings, Pro Football Focus graded LSU’s freshman class the best in college football for the 2022 season, and Redmond and LSU followed all that up by landing the No. 5 recruiting class and No. 9 transfer portal class for 2023

LSU’s 2024 class ranked No. 7 according to the On3 Sports Industry rankings, and their 2025 class currently sits at No. 1 in the team recruiting rankings.

“This is a tremendous honor for Will, and I’m very happy to see him recognized as the recipient of this award,” Kelly said of Redmond’s honor. “His ability to identify talent and his overall evaluation of players is vital to our program. Whether it’s identifying young players or evaluating players who may be in the transfer portal, Will has been able to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of recruiting and player evaluation.”

And Austin Thomas, Redmond’s mentor, told FootballScoop, “I take great pride in having witnessed Will’s journey of professional growth, where he has unsurprisingly evolved into a leader in the personnel industry. From the outset of his career, it was evident that Will possessed a rare combination of character and skill, but also had an eagerness to learn in order to become an expert in his field and achieve his goals. His unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with his keen eye for talent and exceptional ability to develop deep connections and lead others, truly sets him apart.”

Redmond earned his undergraduate (2013) and graduate degrees (2015) from Tennessee in Sport Management while working with the university’s athletic department in multiple capacities.

Prior to LSU, Redmond served as director of recruiting at the University of Kansas for over four years. He joined the Kansas staff after three years as the director of player personnel at Middle Tennessee State University.

Important background…

Redmond worked under Thomas during the 2021 season at LSU. Thomas created the GM position at Baylor before being hired to the same position at LSU. He was the first GM in the SEC. Thomas was later hired away by Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss in January of 2022. He is widely considered one of the best GM’s in college football, now serving as chief of staff and senior associate AD for football under Kiffin.

Thomas, Redmond’s mentor, studied NFL front offices years ago and decided to recreate their advanced scouting departments in college football. Identifying transfers and helping with in-season game-planning were critical elements.

Thomas told ESPN in July of 2021, “You think about it, it’s strength staff, training staff, nutrition staff, analysts, recruiting staff, personnel staff … it’s a lot of people. If a head coach doesn’t have help with that stuff to carry his message and implement that on a daily basis, it can go sideways really quick.”

Redmond joins a new-look Auburn coaching staff that recently welcomed Charles Kelly as co-DC, Derrick Nix as OC, saw Kent Austin be promoted to QB coach, along with seeing Wesley McGriff return after a brief flirtation with Texas A&M.