LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV football head coach Marcus Arroyo announced the hiring of two more staffers Thursday as Ethan Russo has joined the program as director of player personnel and Kelsea Winkle takes over as the Rebels' new director of recruiting.
 
"Our 'Talent Acquisition' blueprint is the foundation of the Rebel football program," said Arroyo. "Our efforts and commitment to a high level of recruiting has been very successful -- and leadership in this department has paved the way."
 
Russo just completed his second season at the University of Utah, having been promoted to assistant director of player personnel for the Utes in April 2021. In Salt Lake City, he oversaw defensive recruiting and managed two assistants in identifying, evaluating and managing prospects. He was director for all football camps and helped host all official and unofficial prospect visits. Russo helped Utah achieve the school's two highest-ranked recruiting classes according to 247Sports (No. 30 in 2020 and No. 33 in 2021).
 
Previous to joining the Pac-12 program, Russo spent the 2018 season as a recruiting analyst at Rice University in Houston. Before that he spent time working for NFL teams, as an operations intern for the Indianapolis Colts (April to July 2018) and game charter for the Cleveland Browns (October 2016-March 2018).
 
A 2017 graduate of TCU with a bachelor's of science degree in communication studies with a minor in business, Russo was an on-field student manager for the Horned Frogs football program after originally starting out as an assistant student manager in the equipment department.
 
"Our new director of player personnel, Ethan Russo, joins us from the Utah football program," said Arroyo. "His background and skill set is a perfect match for our program and we are so excited to watch him positively affect our evaluation process and roster management. We hit an absolute home run landing Ethan and his wife, Susana."
 
Winkle recently earned her master of sports management from Colorado State University after previously serving as USC's director of on-campus recruiting in 2019-20. She joined the Pac-12 Conference program after spending the 2018 season as CSU's director of recruiting, in charge of on-campus recruiting and overseeing recruiting interns, as well as other departmental duties such as social media communications, department administration and NCAA compliance.
 
Winkle was a recruiting intern for the Rams' football program starting in 2014 when her duties consisted of helping coordinate on-campus recruiting events, including unofficial and official visits, facilities tours and more.
 
She also interned in the front office with the Tacoma Rainiers triple-A baseball club (2017) and the Colorado Eagles ECHL hockey team (2014-15), as well as working as the director of marketing and promotions and assistant to the general manager for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots baseball club.
 
Winkle earned her bachelor's degree from Colorado State in 2018 with a double major in hospitality management and communication studies. She played volleyball at Grace Christian High School in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska.
 
"Kelsea Winkle joins us as director of recruiting. With her, we add even more talent to our team as she brings both Pac-12 and Mountain West experience to our program. Her ability to organize recruiting events, community relations and year-round calendar efforts makes her an important and valuable addition to the Rebels' recruiting department."