Inside the Notre Dame personnel office: The roles, responsibilities and staff shaping Irish recruiting

Notre Dame fans may know the names within the Fighting Irish personnel/recruiting department from social media and reading prospects mention them in articles, but who are these men and women, and what are their job responsibilities?

The department underwent massive changes in the offseason, and Blue & Gold spent months gathering information about each staffer — their impact, background and role — from talking with recruits, parents, coaches and sources in South Bend.

Let’s dive in.

Jourdan Blake — Director of Player Personnel

The former SMU and Baylor cornerback (2014-18) joined the Irish staff in the offseason after working as Colorado’s assistant director of player personnel, specializing in high school relations. Before that, he worked at both SMU and TCU. Blake, 29, also gained NFL experience as a scouting intern with the Houston Texans in July 2024.

His father is the late John Blake, who passed away in 2020. The elder Blake was Oklahoma’s head coach from 1996-98 and was a two-time Super Bowl Champion. Jourdan grew up around the game of football and knows it well.

Everyone who has spoken about Blake highlights his elite organizational, communication and recruiting skills.

Regarding the organizational aspect of his job, it’s Blue & Gold’s understanding that Blake is instrumental in planning visit weekends with regards to coordinating meetings with recruits and coaches. Blake also handles much of the scheduling for the ND coaches’ recruiting travel during bye weeks and the offseason.

His ties to Texas and relationships with agents and trainers nationwide keep him dialed in on high school recruit and transfer portal developments, and he’s able to get to the bottom of situations quickly. While others in the Irish personnel office are more forward-facing in recruiting, Blake still gets on the phone with recruits and builds relationships while doing his work behind the scenes as well.

“Jourdan is my guy,” Notre Dame four-star safety commit Ayden Pouncey told Blue & Gold. “He was my tour guide for my first visits to South Bend. He’s like family now. We created a really good connection; I talk to him on the phone every week or every couple of weeks.”

“Jourdan is really cool and very helpful,” Notre Dame four-star running back commit Javian Osborne said. “He’s been good to my family and has answered questions. He’s one of those guys that’s like a older cousin that you’re very close with. He’s easy to relate to.”

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa — Director of Recruiting Advancement

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native played at Notre Dame for five seasons from 2017-21. He was named a team captain in his last go-round, during which he totaled a career-high 25 tackles, tied a career high with 6 tackles for loss and added 2 sacks — with Marcus Freeman as defensive coordinator. In his career, Tagovailoa-Amosa, 26, had 79 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and 4 fumbles recovered including 1 returned for a touchdown.

The 26-year-old briefly played in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders but suffered an injury and was not signed by another team. In 2024, he reunited with former Irish head coach Brian Kelly at LSU as a graduate assistant.

But he returned home to Notre Dame in March with the title of director of recruiting advancement. Recruiting office staffers wear many hats, and Tagovailoa-Amosa’s role with Notre Dame is expansive.

The essence of his job is right there in the title: advancing Notre Dame recruiting. How can the Irish improve in all aspects of the recruiting process? How can the Irish be more efficient and better in scouting? What can the staff improve their recruiting visits? How can the coaches best utilize their time on the road recruiting? How can the staff enhance their recruiting in all areas?

These subjects won’t all be improved overnight, but Tagovailoa-Amosa’s main goal is to advance Notre Dame’s entire recruiting operation while also handling important day-to-day responsibilities.

Most members of the recruiting office have positions that they lead early evaluations for, and prospects they like will be passed along to the coaching staff for potential offers. Tagovailoa-Amosa — to no one’s surprise — watches defensive line prospects. He’s also a main point of contact with many defensive line recruits and prospects with Polynesian heritage, among others.

He relates well to recruits as a man in his early 20s who played for Freeman in South Bend.

“He’s a good dude, man,” said 2027 defensive line target Karlos May. “He’s very personable — I can ask him anything about the program. He just played there. He’ll keep it honest with me and let me know everything.”

“Myron is reall you can tell he’s a man of God and a Notre Dame man as well with how he carries himself and how he operates,” Osborne said. “You can feel his energy is genuine and pure.

Carter Auman — Director of Recruiting

In short, Auman is the heartbeat and soul of the personnel department. He is pivotal for the Fighting Irish in all aspects of high school recruiting.

Auman, 26, bleeds blue and gold. He grew up a Notre Dame fan along with his family, which is full of Fighting Irish fans and alums. While attending school at Notre Dame, Auman served as the “student head quarterback manager,” and after graduating in May 2022, he joined the recruiting office as a recruiting associate. He’s been a key part of the recruiting office since; Auman stepped up over the past couple of years when others left ND for new jobs.

In the summer of 2024, Wisconsin tried to poach Auman to become the Badgers’ director of player personnel, which would have been a big step up in job title and responsibilities at the time. But Auman declined and remained at Notre Dame instead.

Auman was elevated from assistant to the general manager to director of recruiting earlier this year, an obvious move for Notre Dame that has already paid dividends. He is “elite” as a communicator and relationship builder with recruits and parents, as one source put it. Auman knows the history of Notre Dame and his love for the program is clearly authentic when connecting with families.

He also works with the Notre Dame coaches on scheduling calls with recruits — especially Marcus Freeman — so that they’re consistently in contact. Auman also evaluates prospects.

Auman was crucial in the Irish landing five-star class of 2026 safety Joey O’Brien from Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College. The Pennsylvania natives bonded from the get-go, with one source raving about how important their connection was.

“No one in the country has talked to Joey more than Carter,” the source said. “They’re beyond a recruiting relationship. They’re more like brothers.”

O’Brien’s father, Joe, echoed those sentiments during a summer conversation with Blue & Gold after his son committed to the Irish.

“Carter was big,” the elder O’Brien said. “He and Joey talk all the time. They’re like brothers. It would have been hard not to go to Notre Dame, having to tell Carter that we picked another school. That would have been just awful. I don’t think Joey could have done it, to be honest.

“He’s an awesome, awesome person. He’s a good dude, man. Loves his family. He’s a real good family person and man. He loves Notre Dame just as much as anybody. He’s the best guy for that job.”

Joe O’Brien also raved about the entire recruiting office.

“Carter has a crew with him that are just like him,” Joe said. “Everybody is the same as Carter. They’re all great people. They all have nothing but great things to say about everything. You don’t ever hear any negative things out of them, even when you’re talking about other schools. There is no negative recruiting. Ever. They just do a great job there.”

Becca Sites — Director of Recruiting Operations

When it comes to organizing visit weekends, Sites has every detail planed from A to Z. From setting up furniture to scheduling a DJ and everything in between, Sites is all over every aspect of recruiting events at Notre Dame. Big official visit weekends in June? That is Sites’ Super Bowl. A transfer portal visitor in the winter? Sites coordinates and schedules all of it.

Like everyone in the recruiting office, Sites wears several hats. She’s involved in the process of getting graphics to recruits, helps midyear enrollees get situated and connects with parents of recruits.

Sites worked as an intern in the recruiting office for several years before being promoted to director of on-campus recruiting in the summer of 2024. She became the director of recruiting operations in March.

Ariella Ellis — Director of On-Campus Recruiting

Notre Dame hired Ellis away from Virginia State University, where she worked as the director of football operations. She earned that title prior to the start of the 2023 football season.

Ellis coordinates various unofficial recruit visits like Sites does, but her main focus is on the admissions and academics side. She ensures recruits’ transcripts are in order and collaborates closely with the Notre Dame admissions office, which — as Irish fans know — is a critical role. Sources around the program rave about the job Ellis has done in her short time at Notre Dame.

Sites and Ellis have become a strong on-campus duo, especially when working with parents.

“This 2026 class is so amazing, from the players to the families, and we have all formed a special bond for sure,” said Tracy Garvin, mother of 2026 offensive line commit Sullivan Garvin. “We are very fortunate to have Becca Sites and Ariella Ellis on our side. Any and all questions we have will get an immediate answer. They have helped so much with everything.

“We have this awesome moms group chat, and we talk about any concerns we may have, birthdays, games, injuries, prayers, anxieties and more. We are part of the Notre Dame family and all feel it as well.”

Mike Martin — General Manager

The GM position at top college football programs was non-existent a decade ago, but in today’s landscape, every college needs one, and it’s an incredibly crucial job. I’ve been working on this article for several months, and when it comes to Martin’s role, I discovered that it was easier to ask what Martin doesn’t do than what he does.

Martin, 44, oversees the personnel office, works on the contracts with players, partners with Ellis on the admissions side, evaluates recruits and portal players in line with what Freeman wants and manages the fast-changing NIL landscape. He’s also a final call for prospects before they commit to Notre Dame, to discuss NIL and other final details. Martin has his hand in just about everything Notre Dame does off the field. 

Martin attended Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit before playing defensive back for the Vanderbilt Commodores, where he graduated with a degree in human and organizational developmental studies. He started working in the NFL in 2002 as an intern with the Tennessee Titans. He worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans before joining the Detroit Lions.

He spent four years in Detroit, helping rebuild the Lions into a perennial NFC contender.

“Mike Martin is an innovative, forward-thinking, organized leader, who is also elite at talent evaluation,” Freeman said in a statement to announce the hire in late February. “He is a great communicator and has valuable experience in roster building and management, as he was a vital piece of enhancing and developing the Detroit Lions’ roster over the last few years. Additionally, his expertise in utilizing sports science and analytics will help us continue to elevate our program.”

Other key members of the recruiting office

There are a few others in the department who hold associate or analyst titles.

Justice Bathas: He’s right there with Auman as the heart and soul of the recruiting office. He does excellent work with prospects and their families when they come to campus and keeps consistent daily communication with recruits. Several members of the recruiting office work on evaluating talent at specific positions to get to the coaching staff, and it’s Blue & Gold’s understanding that Bathas watches wide receiver prospects.

Auman quickly rose through the ranks at Notre Dame, and it would be no surprise if Bathas is next. He does an incredible job as a point of contact with many key recruits.

“When I visited in the spring right after I got offered by Notre Dame, they were the first two people I met in the office,” four-star Irish tight end commit Preston Fryzel said about Auman and Bathas. “They took me around the whole day, and from there on, we’ve continued to build a very close relationship. It’s not all football talk — they could call you out of the blue and just catch up. They all stay in touch with me very regularly.”

Tre Reader: He joined the Notre Dame football program in 2022 as a walk-on linebacker and made his debut against Tennessee State in 2023. Last year, Reader appeared in five games but suffered a torn labrum in the spring and medically retired from football. According to Reader’s Twitter profile, he is an assistant recruiting analyst and assistant linebacker coach for the Fighting Irish.

Reader has a bright future, whether that’s continuing as a recruiting office staffer or as an on-field coach. He’s a film junkie who does well evaluating and recruiting linebacker prospects, As such a young staffer, he relates well to recruits.

“I talk to him every week,” 2027 four-star linebacker target Amarri Irvin said. “He’s always there to give me advice and talk football. I appreciate him a lot. He’s a really smart guy and player who’s been through the Notre Dame standard and coaching, so every time we get a chance to talk, he shows me different drills or things to look at to become a better linebacker or person. I always listen and take it because he’s just a good person to lean on and look up to.”

Tim Brown Jr.: The son of Notre Dame legend and Heisman winner Tim Brown Sr. graduated from nearby Holy Cross College in May 2025 and then started working in the Irish recruiting office. He does a great job with families during visits and knows the ins and outs of the university.

Stu Hamilton: A graduate student who has become an important part of recruiting operations.

Dillon Altman: Helps in the scouting department.

Anthony Treash and Matt Jansen: They’re not necessarily members of the recruiting office, but they’re involved in advanced scouting on the high school side of things.

Jansen’s work is more behind the scenes and doesn’t get much public acclaim, but he’s a critical part of the ND football operation in all aspects — from high school, transfer portal and opponent scouting to keeping tabs on the current team. Jansen and Martin crossed paths on a couple of occasions with the Houston Texans.

Treash is involved with similar evaluations as Jansen but from an analytical standpoint. His role includes an internal system for advanced scouting and evaluations.