Nathan Applebaum

Biography

Nathan Applebaum enters his first season as the executive director of player personnel for the UCLA football program in 2026. Applebaum follows head coach Bob Chesney to Westwood after serving as the director of player personnel at James Madison for two seasons in 2024-25 where the Dukes reached the College Football Playoff and won the Sun Belt Championship in his final year. His primary duties included coordinating the daily prospective student-athlete (PSA) recruiting operation and logistical processes for the program. He also planned and executed an annual vision of the recruiting calendar, which included mail, video and graphics. Applebaum identified, evaluated, collected and organized data on PSAs to be distributed to Chesney and his staff. Additionally, he developed and managed the film evaluation process for high school and transfer athletes while working alongside the director of on-campus recruiting. Prior to James Madison, Applebaum spent two seasons as the assistant director of player personnel at Fresno State in 2022-23. Before Fresno State, he was a player personnel/recruiting assistant for the Michigan State program in 2021. While in East Lansing, Applebaum's role was to break down film to identify quality targets and assist with recruiting visits. Applebaum graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2021. He earned his master's degree in sports management two years later at Florida. While in Gainesville, he h

Career Path