Ohio State's opening week matchup against the Texas Longhorns is within the single-digit hour mark at this point, but the 24/7 rivalry with TTUN ratcheted up with former Buckeyes running back coach Tony Alford's reaction to the Wolverines' Savion Hiter commitment.
Alford claimed the block M was "different" eight times within one answer on Hiter's commitment; though due to NCAA recruiting rules, the statement was vague and not directly referencing the recent 2026 running back recruit's decision.
He also called Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore a "real one" while stressing how different he was. Interestingly enough, Alford worked for Ryan Day and Urban Meyer from 2015 to 2023.
"There's not the pretentiousness and the cliques," Alford said. "When you sit with our players, from the kids that I've had that have come in recently in recruiting, they speak volumes about our players. And those are, those are the best recruiters we have."
Who might Alford be talking about?
That was rhetorical. We know damn well who he was talking about.
Tony Alford gets low mark despite Savion Hiter's commitment
The Athletic's Austin Meek is still largely unimpressed with Alford's work on the recruiting trail since moving nearly 200 miles north to Ann Arbor, particularly due to the lack of "blockbuster" wins in the last two cycles.
"Hiter was the closest thing to a must-have prospect that Michigan had in 2026. The Wolverines have one other running back committed, three-star prospect Jonathan Brown, and were keeping the top slot open for Hiter. He’s exactly the kind of prospect Michigan had in mind when the Wolverines hired running backs coach Tony Alford away from Ohio State. Alford, who recruited another five-star running back from Virginia in former Buckeyes star TreVeyon Henderson, had yet to pull off a blockbuster recruiting win in two years at Michigan," Meek wrote.
"Hiter’s commitment is another win for Michigan in its ongoing recruiting war against Ohio State, though Tennessee emerged as Michigan’s biggest challenger as the recruiting process unfolded. Hiter took his final official visit to Knoxville and deliberated throughout the summer, making him the highest-rated uncommitted player in the composite rankings heading into Tuesday’s announcement."
Alford is on the rise from disappointing valleys, and on his ascension, he's taking cheap shots at the hands that once fed him.