Mark Diethorn (pronounced DEE-thorn) joined the Hokies as director of player personnel in 2018. He spent the previous six seasons at Pitt serving as director of recruiting.
“Mark serves a key role for us as our director of player personnel,” Head Coach Justin Fuente said. “His longstanding relationships with coaches across our region and his passion for Virginia Tech are just some of the qualities that made him the right person for us. Mark is very bright and talented, but it also became very apparent he shares a vision for the type of young men who will fit at Virginia Tech, in terms of work ethic, talent and their commitment to being successful academically. We’re excited to have him join our team and what we’re building in Blacksburg.”
Diethorn oversees the day-to-day recruiting and personnel operations, which includes the prospect evaluation process, campus visits, roster management, coaches road travel, recruiting board and database organization, summer camps, prospect admissions, and other tasks assigned by the head coach. Additionally, Diethorn is responsible for monitoring the transfer portal which has helped bring the Hokies a group that includes RB Khalil Herbert (led the ACC with 1,791 all-purpose yards in 2020; 3rd in the FBS), QB Braxton Burmeister, OL Brock Hoffman (2020 ACC Honorable Mention), OL Johnny Jordan, RB Raheem Blackshear, DE Justus Reed, DT Jordan Williams, and DB Devin Taylor. In 2019, Diethorn helped the Hokies bring in a top 25 recruiting class according to Rivals.
The Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania native began his tenure at Pitt as a recruiting assistant in 2012. He took on additional responsibilities when Pat Narduzzi was named head coach in 2015 when he was promoted to director of recruiting. In that role he was responsible for planning and executing all aspects of Pitt’s recruiting and personnel strategy. Following his promotion by Narduzzi, the Panthers signed their best recruiting class in eight years according to Rivals and ESPN.
Diethorn served as scouting and player personnel intern with Pittsburgh Steelers during their 2017 training camp. Under the direction of general manager Kevin Colbert, Diethorn evaluated college prospects for the Steelers’ player personnel department. While at Pitt he played a role in helping acquire 31 players who would go on to play in the National Football League. That group includes NFL Draft draftees such as WR Tyler Boyd, RB James Conner, G Dorian Johnson, DB Avonte Maddox, QB Nathan Peterman, T Brian O’Neill and DB Jordan Whitehead.
Prior to his stint at Pitt, Diethorn worked as a football recruiting assistant at the University of Florida from 2009-10. He assisted the Gators’ coaching staff during recruiting periods and handling campus visits, in addition to managing Florida’s recruiting database. He contributed to the signing of two top-12 recruiting classes, including the Gators’ 2010 class that was ranked No. 1 nationally by Scout and ESPN.
Diethorn holds a Master’s degree in sport management from Florida and an MBA from Pitt. He earned his B.S. in business information technology from Virginia Tech in 2007 and also owns experience working in the private sector, including an appointment as a business analyst for PNC Financial Group.