Back in the spring of 2024, Tony Alford decided to leave the Ohio State football program. He jumped to the worst possible place, which was Ann Arbor. To make matters worse, he did it right in the middle of spring practice that season, so the Buckeyes were caught off guard.
However, that move seems to have benefitted Ohio State. The Buckeyes hired Carlos Locklyn, who helped both TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins rush for over 1,000 yards in 2024 en route to a national championship. Meanwhile, Alford watched his head coach get fired last year. Now, he's trying to justify making the move to TTUN.
Tony Alford's justification for leaving Ohio State for Michigan is a bad one
While speaking to the Hail Media Group, Alford claims that jobs are not mutually exclusive, so he can move anywhere he wants.
"They didn't say, 'You're a mentor of young men and young people, but only at these places.' You're going to do it holistically, or you're not. And it wasn't exclusive to where it has to be at Ohio State, so therefore it can't be at Michigan or vice versa."
That is an extremely weak attempt at justifying leaving in the middle of spring practice for an arch-rival. Alford left because he thought that he had a better opportunity at TTUN than he did in Columbus. That opportunity hasn't led him or TTUN to win any postseason games.
On the flip side, Ohio State is in a great spot with Locklyn on staff. He hasn't landed the blue-chip running back recruits like Alford has yet, but he has shown that he can develop lower-ranked recruits into great backs. That's what he has done with Bo Jackson, who is poised to have another big season as a sophomore in 2026.
Ohio State has already proven Tony Alford made the wrong move
Last year, the Buckeyes shut down TTUN, winning 27-9. In that game, Alford's running backs combined for just 99 yards rushing on 18 carries. Meanwhile, Locklyn's crew had 181 yards on the ground. It was domination from Ohio State's running backs.
Alford lost his best running back last year to injury, as well. Then he decided to transfer away. Meanwhile, Ohio State is doing a good job of retaining its best backs. They made the right decision not to pay David Gabriel George's absurd NIL fee, even though he's a five-star recruit, too.
Ohio State should be able to run the ball even better with Arthur Smith running the show. So far in practice, the Buckeyes have shown multiple different formations that look run-heavy. Of course, their best weapons are still on the outside, and that's how they will burn most of their opponents this year.
Michigan has to travel to Columbus this year, and it's unlikely they will be ready for what the Buckeyes will be bringing them. If he continues to lose games to the Buckeyes, Alford will likely look in the mirror and wonder why he ever decided to move north.
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