North Texas Daily

After a staff shakeup that involved David Stenklyft moving to a position in football operations for North Texas, head coach Seth Littrell filled the open staff position Wednesday morning.

Luke Walerius, a former recruiting assistant at the University of Kentucky, was named the director of recruiting in a press release.

“Adding Luke to our staff is something we are all very excited about,” Littrell said in a prepared statement. “He will bring a high-energy approach and a new perspective to our recruiting efforts to continue to build on our successes in that area. He comes very highly recommended from the coaching staff at Kentucky, which we have a great deal of respect for.”

Moving forward, Stenklyft will be working alongside Shane Elder, the assistant athletic director of football operations.

“[Stenklyft] is in a good spot, and he’s shifting some responsibility,” a source close to the team said before the new hire was made. “Obviously, with the overlap of signing day he’s still heavily involved in that until we get the person in here. It should be wrapped up in the next couple of days.”

Stenklyft is excited for the new opportunity in operations after working in recruiting since 2010, when he was on the recruiting and operations staff at Alabama. He spent three years at Fresno State as a graduate assistant and outside linebackers coach before transitioning into a role in recruiting for North Texas.

With National Signing Day (Feb. 7) on the horizon, Walerius will immediately be put to work to help round up the rest of the signing class. The early signing period yielded 14 recruits in December, and the remainder of the class will be the product of a joint effort from Stenklyft and company.

North Texas currently has the No. 6 ranked recruiting class in Conference USA for 2018 according to 247Sports, but there is still a chance to bolster the class through an important final week on the recruiting trail.

The Mean Green had the No. 11 ranked recruiting class in Littrell’s full cycle and appear to be well on their way to building on that mark next week.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to join the University of North Texas football program and coach Littrell’s staff,” Walerius said in a press release. “I have a great admiration and respect for coach Littrell and the program he is building. I am excited to help continue to take this program to the next level and look forward to working in the great state of Texas, which has the best high school football in America.”

Featured Image: North Texas coach Seth Littrell discusses the team’s quarterback situation at media day Monday Aug. 21 at Apogee Stadium.