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Michigan State hires Michael Morales as player personnel analyst

IMG_2371by: Kenny Jordan08/03/25
Michigan State has hired Michael Morales as a player personnel analyst.
Michigan State has hired Michael Morales as a player personnel analyst.

Michigan State has added another new face to its player personnel department.

The Spartans on Sunday announced the hiring of Michael Morales as a player personnel analyst. This marks Morales’ first full-time job in the industry. He served as a player personnel assistant at Texas for the past three years.

Morales will presumably play a role in the department’s effort to replace former director of defensive player personnel, Austin D’Armond, who spent two seasons at Oregon State before following Jonathan Smith to East Lansing. D’Armond left Michigan State over the summer to become Nevada’s director of player personnel and recruiting strategy.

Morales held several part-time positions during his time with Texas, like recruiting operations assistant, special events coordinator and facility supervisor at UT RecSports. He also worked as a part-time data collector for Pro Football Focus (PFF) from June to December 2024.

Since his hiring at Texas in October 2022, Morales has helped the Longhorns land three top-six classes, per the Rivals Industry Team Rankings. In 2023, the Longhorns finished with the third-best class in the country and landed No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning. Texas landed the sixth-best class in 2024, which included five-star edge Colin Simmons. In 2025, the Longhorns finished with the top class in the country. Their 2026 class currently ranks fifth in the nation.

Morales graduated from the University of Texas-Austin with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in physics in May 2024. The following month, he began his pursuit of a Mater’s degree in education at Texas. Morales has a knowledge of advanced scouting software that he has used to enhance recruitment strategies.

Michigan State may continue to add to its player personnel department as revenue sharing and player acquisition models continue to shape college football. Sean Levy, the Spartans’ director of offensive player personnel, has been with the program since 2020.

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