Suddes Named Personnel Director

Texas announed that the Longhorns have hired Patrick Suddes, the assistant director of football operations for Alabama, to begin a newly created position at the University of Texas, the director of player personnel.

Suddes worked for many years under Nick Saban in the NFL and at Alabama.

Suddes has worked for Nick Saban at both Alabama and Miami Dolphins in administrative positions.

The position is one that will help Texas catch up and potentially surpass other schools.

"This is a good thing for Texas, it's a big step" a source within the athletic department told Hookem.com today. "I think what we're going to be able to do with this position - from camps, to Skyping recruits, to evaluating players earlier and earlier - it's all there now.

"We talked to a lot of people and they all had a lot of good ideas, things we can take and move forward with."

Texas is not only expected to hire Suddes, but the Longhorns are also looking at expanding the department even further.

“We are so excited to have Patrick joining our staff,” Mack Brown said in a statement. “He’s a guy that is very passionate about recruiting and building a team. He has a great deal of experience in recruiting and player personnel both at the college and pro levels. Everyone we talked to said he’s the guy you need, and then Patrick knocked us out in his interview. He’s a very personable guy, but he’s also aggressive and competitive in his approach. I know he’s a guy that will come right in and hit the ground running, which is exactly what we need. I think he’s the perfect fit to build and lead our player personnel department.

“I can’t thank DeLoss (Dodds) and Bill (Powers) enough for supporting us and providing us the resources to have the best people in place to help us evaluate and recruit the top prospects. This new area will be critical in the continued growth of our program, and I’m excited to be a part of its development in the years to come.”
Hookem.com first broke the news of Suddes emerging as a leading candidate yesterday afternoon.

“I’m really passionate about not just helping to find and recruit the best prospects, but getting to know the kids,” Suddes said in a statement. “I think it’s key in this day and age because there are a lot of good players out there, but I really like being able to sit down and see what a player's makeup is.

"I think that's an exciting part for me. Having been in the pros and coming back to college, that's why I like college so much, you have such an impact on a player going from high school to college and hopefully going to the NFL. When they get to the NFL, they're pretty much set in their ways, but in college, you can really make an impact in a kid's life, especially coming to a place like this with so much pride and tradition. It's a big selling point."

Click here for the full release from UT on Suddes' hiring

Click here for Major Applewhite's thoughts on Suddes