Mississippi State has a new director of football recruiting that comes to Starkville with a proven track record.

Mike Leach has reached into the Big Ten to land former Michigan Director of Recruiting, Matt Dudek.

Dudek had served in that role for Michigan dating back to the summer of 2017. Before landing in Ann Arbor, Dudek served as on-campus recruiting coordinator and director of player personnel at Arizona from 2011-2015.

In 2016, Arizona named him general manager of the program, giving Dudek the distinction of being college football’s first general manager.

During his time at Michigan, the Wolverines signed four recruiting classes ranging from the 2018 recruiting cycle to the 2021 cycle.

Here are the ratings for those classes signed by Michigan.

The 2018 class rated No. 22 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten, the 2019 class rated No. 8 nationally and No. 1 in the Big Ten, the 2020 class rated No. 14 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten, and finally, the 2021 class rated No. 10 nationally and No. 2 in the Big Ten.

Dudek issued his thanks to Michigan and confirmed his move to Mississippi State on Thursday morning.

“Next up, Mississippi State and Starkvegas! I’m grateful and can’t wait to attack the trail and the SEC with some amazing people!!! And talk about blown away… in less than 24 hours, the passion of the MSU fans and kindness of the Starkville people SHINING THROUGH like everything I’ve ever heard! HAIL STATE!”

While some Michigan fans have greeted this news, Brandon Brown of Sports Illustrated shared his thoughts on Mississippi State’s new staffer.