Wolverine TV: Five RB recruits new Michigan assistant Tony Alford will likely target

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland broke down five recruits that new Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford is expected to target this cycle.

Watch the full video above.

Alford as a recruiter

Alford joins the Michigan staff after a successful stint at rival Ohio State, where he proved to be one of the best running back recruiters in the country.

During his time at Ohio State, Alford landed a whopping nine Top 200 running backs, including half a dozen in the Top 100. Alford dominated in the state of Ohio, went down to Texas and pulled JK Dobbins, who was a second round NFL pick, and pulled TreVeyon Henderson, the nation’s No. 1 running back, out of Virginia in 2021.

Former Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart struggled on the recruiting trail and landed just one Top 200 back in three full cycles in Ann Arbor. Holland believes Alford has a chance to be a massive upgrade for the Wolverines.

“Mike Hart was an elite developer of talent,” Holland said. “He was a tremendous player at Michigan. An all-time great at Michigan. But he was a poor recruiter. It’s okay to say that. It’s okay to seperate those things. He can be a great player. He can be a great coach. But he wasn’t a great recruiter. Yes, Hart did land Jordan Marshall, but that was his only Top 200 running back land in three full cycles at Michigan. He was pretty lazy in other areas like area recruiting and helping other position coaches. Tony Alford landed nine Top 200 during his time at Ohio State. He also helped land nine Top 200 recruits at other positions. He has great area ties in North Carolina and Virginia as well as Florida. He’s recruited out West for Ohio State, of course, he’s done some great work in the state of Ohio.”

Alford spent the last nine seasons at Ohio State as the team’s running backs coach and assistant head coach on offense under Urban Meyer and Ryan Day. During his time there, he coached four 1,000-plus yard rushers in Ezekiel Elliott, Mike Weber, JK Dobbins and Treveyon Henderson. He was expected to lead a Buckeye room this year that featured Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins, who many expect to be the best running back duo in the country.

Prior to his time at Ohio State, Alford spent six seasons at Notre Dame. Other stops in his coaching career included Mount Union, Kent State, Iowa State, Washington and Louisville. He is considered one of the best recruiters at the position in college football, and is a potential home run addition for Moore’s staff.

Michigan’s running back room in 2024 is set to feature Donovan Edwards, Kalel Mullings, Cole Cabana, Benjamin Hall, Tavierre Dunlap and true freshmen Jordan Marshall and Micah Ka’apana.