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Mar. 13—Ohio State football is losing a longtime assistant to Michigan.
A university spokesman confirmed running backs coach Tony Alford has left the program shortly after ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Wednesday morning Alford is expected to take the same job with the Wolverines.
That came after FootballScoop.com reported Alford was a Michigan target.
An Akron native who played for Earle Bruce at Colorado State, Alford has been at Ohio State since 2015 when he was hired away from Notre Dame by Urban Meyer.
He coached a string of successful running backs, including Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins, Mike Weber and TreVeyon Henderson, during his time with the Buckeyes and was promoted to run-game coordinator in 2022 when he signed a contract extension that was set to expire earlier this year.
At Michigan, he would replace Mike Hart, the Wolverines’ all-time leading rusher who has been considered an up-and-coming coaching talent for the past decade but recently split with his alma mater.
Ironically, one of Alford’s new pupils in Ann Arbor will be Ohio’s reigning Mr. Football, Cincinnati Moeller running back Jordan Marshall.
Marshall’s surprise choice of Michigan almost exactly a year ago was seen as a major recruiting win for Hart over Alford and spawned speculation the Wolverines were going to raid the Buckeye State for talent in the class of 2024, but that never materialized.
Alford rallied to snag four-star prospect James Peoples from San Antonio but lost four-star prospect Jordan Lyle of Florida to the Miami Hurricanes just before National Signing Day in December.
This move comes a week after the Buckeyes began spring football practice, though none are scheduled for this week as Ohio State is on spring break. They will resume Tuesday.
Hart was at Michigan for three seasons and developed Blake Corum into one of the most…
Source link : https://finance.yahoo.com/news/michigan-football-hire-away-ohio-184400143.html
Author : Dayton Daily News, Ohio
Publish date : 2024-03-13 18:44:00
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