Southern Miss football recruiting director Joe Moreno leaves for Ravens; assistant will be promoted

The head of Southern Miss football's recruiting department is no longer with the Golden Eagles.

Joe Moreno , the team's director of player personnel, has left Southern Miss to join the Baltimore Ravens where he'll be a player personnel assistant, according to the Ravens website and his X bio. He confirmed the news Friday with a post on X.

"Thank you @SouthernMissFB for an amazing 3 and a half years," Moreno wrote. "I can't speak highly enough of Coach (Will) Hall, Coach (Reed) Stringer and staff. It's been an honor to serve and I can't wait to watch the Golden Eagles this fall!"

Moreno was a part of Southern Miss' two-man player personnel department alongside assistant director Landon Smith. Multiple sources have confirmed that Smith will be promoted to take Moreno’s role.

The sources were granted anonymity because an official announcement hasn’t been made.

Moreno had been with the Golden Eagles since coach Will Hall's first season in 2021. He came from Auburn and held previous recruiting positions at Harvard and Stanford.

Southern Miss' recruiting class grades by 247Sports have improved for three consecutive seasons. After the Golden Eagles went 3-9 in 2023, Moreno signed what was rated as the Sun Belt Conference's top recruiting class at the early signing period. Coastal Carolina edged out Southern Miss in the final rankings, however.

Hall noted in June that he felt it would be difficult to keep Moreno for a long time.

“I think Joe’s a star,” he said. “I think it will be hard to keep him much longer. I don’t mind saying that because a lot of NFL teams come through and love him. He’s got that in him. He’s done a phenomenal job."

Smith, 27, is a former Jacksonville State player who’s been with the program since before Hall was hired.

Southern Miss has six players committed to its class of 2025 . 247Sports ranks it 13th in the Sun Belt and 132nd nationally.

MORE: Southern Miss football will make $1.9 million to play at Kentucky, pay SE Louisiana $350,000

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football recruiting director Joe Moreno leaves for Ravens; assistant will be promoted