Former Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford took a jab at the Buckeyes during a media session in Ann Arbor on Aug. 27.
After Michigan landed the top running back recruit in the class of 2026, five-star Savion Hiter, Alford was asked to reflect on his experience recruiting for the Wolverines.
“This place, this block M, is amazing. It’s different,” Alford said. “It’s one thing to say it’s different, I know. Every school you go to, the coach is going to say, ‘We’re different.’ The young men and their families need to come here to really experience it. This place is different. I think the people are different. I think our staff is different. Our head coach damn sure is different. I think when young people sit there — especially with him — they walk out like, ‘Yeah, that guy is a real one.’ There’s not the pretentiousness and the cliques — this place is just different.
However, when reporters badgered him to answer what makes Michigan stand out, Alford obliged, and fired a shot at Ohio State in his response.
“You wanted me to say something really bad about that other place,” Alford said. “I’ll say it. Yeah, we’re better. There you go. Now I’m going to get crucified on that one.”
Alford spent nine years with the Buckeyes (2015–2023) as running backs coach before packing his bags for Ann Arbor, Mich.
He jumped ship before the 2024 season, joining Michigan in the same position, while helping the Wolverines upset Ohio State 13-10 in Ohio Stadium last season.
Alford left Ohio State on as positive terms as one could expect when moving to a rival, offering a heartfelt message to the Buckeye community during his first press conference as a Wolverine.
“I have so much respect for Ohio State and the Ohio State community and what they presented to me and my family through the years. It was not an easy decision (to leave). Anytime you are somewhere for as long as I was, for nine years, there were some groups that had been set professionally and personally. That was difficult. But at the end of the day, it was something I thought I couldn’t pass up. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
He has since shifted his position, sharing a photo of himself with a cigar in his mouth celebrating the Wolverines’ victory over the Buckeyes after “The Game” Nov. 30, and telling John McCalister on June 27 that he was “as happy as I’ve been in a long time, as far as in my coaching profession.”
