Effectively, that was quick. Extremely quick.
After taking a month to go from hiring Wink Martindale, Greg Scruggs, Brian Jean-Mary, and LaMar Morgan to really asserting their hires, Michigan soccer has made fast work of stealing Tony Alford away from rival Ohio State.
The nine-year operating backs coach and assistant head coach in Columbus is coming north to Ann Arbor to be the operating backs coach and run recreation coordinator.
You possibly can learn the total press launch, together with quotes, beneath.
Full launch
College of Michigan J. Ira and Nicki Harris Household Head Soccer Coach Sherrone Moore introduced Wednesday (March 13) the hiring of Tony Alford because the staff’s run recreation coordinator and operating backs coach. Alford involves Ann Arbor after spending the previous 9 seasons at Ohio State College.
“Tony is an elite operating backs coach who’s an excellent mentor and instance for younger males in all points of soccer and life,” mentioned Moore. “I do know that he could have a profound affect on our operating again room and soccer program. We’re excited to have Tony and his spouse, Trina, and their boys be a part of the Michigan Soccer Household.”
Alford has coached operating backs for the earlier 29 seasons in faculty soccer, mentoring most of the recreation’s prime performers, and was promoted to assistant head coach for the offense throughout his remaining two seasons in Columbus. He brings 31 years of collegiate teaching expertise to Ann Arbor.
Alford coached and developed six 1,000-yard backs in his 9 seasons at Ohio State. His listing of 1,000-yard backs consists of Ezekiel Elliott (2015), Mike Weber (2016), J.Ok. Dobbins (2017, 2018 and 2019) and TreVeyon Henderson (2021). Henderson turned simply the fourth true freshman in program historical past to surpass 1,000 yards and his dashing complete of 1,248 yards was second solely to a different Alford protege, Dobbins, amongst true freshmen in a single season.
Alford’s operating backs have earned main nationwide awards throughout his tenure. Elliott gained Massive Ten Convention Offensive Participant of the Yr and Chicago Tribune Silver Soccer Award honors in 2015 when he had an 1,821-yard season and scored 23 touchdowns; Weber was the league’s freshman of the yr in 2016; and Dobbins was a first-team All-American and the Earl Campbell/Tyler Rose Award winner in 2019 when he turned the primary Buckeye to prime 2,000 yards in a season with 2,003 yards and 21 dashing TDs.
Alford was a 2015 Rivals.com Prime 25 recruiter, a finalist for 247Sports’ 2011 nationwide recruiter of the yr and likewise one of many prime 25 recruiters within the nation that very same season by Rivals.com.
Dobbins was the primary operating again in Ohio State historical past to surpass 1,000 yards dashing as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He set the college document for freshmen operating backs with 1,403 yards in 2017 and closed his profession as one in every of simply 29 operating backs in NCAA historical past with a 2,000-yard season whereas amassing 4,459 yards, second at Ohio State solely to Archie Griffin’s 5,589 yards.
All of Alford’s beginning operating backs went on to be drafted: Elliott (No. 4 total to the Dallas Cowboys in 2016), Weber (No. 218 total to Dallas in 2019), Dobbins (No. 55 total in 2020) and Sermon (No. 88 total in 2021). Elliott turned the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Yr in 2016.
Previous to Ohio State, Alford labored at Notre Dame for six seasons (2009-14). He joined the Irish workers underneath Charlie Weiss as operating backs coach in 2009, and was the one coach retained by new ND coach Brian Kelly in 2010. Alford labored with the receivers his first two seasons underneath Kelly and helped Michael Floyd to consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and an eventual first-round choice by the Arizona Cardinals within the 2012 NFL Draft.
He returned to teaching the operating backs for the Irish in 2012 and added the tasks of mentoring the slot receivers and serving as this system’s recruiting coordinator. In 2014, Alford coached the operating backs and was recruiting coordinator. Throughout his 4 seasons as operating again coach, six completely different Notre Dame gamers topped 500 yards in a season, together with 4 with greater than 700 yards.
Alford was the operating backs coach on the College of Louisville through the 2007-08 seasons underneath Steve Kragthorpe. In 2008, operating again Victor Anderson topped 1,000 yards dashing and was named the Massive East Convention Rookie of the Yr and a Freshman All-American.
Previous to becoming a member of the Louisville workers, Alford spent 9 of his subsequent 10 seasons in teaching at Iowa State College. He joined Dan McCarney’s workers as operating backs coach and developed gamers who helped the Cyclones turn out to be one in every of solely three Division I applications to supply a 1,000-yard rusher for six consecutive seasons between 1995-2001. The Cyclones improved their nationwide dashing from rankings of 103rd to seventeenth in Alford’s 4 years and gained their first-ever bowl recreation to cap a 9-3 season in 2000.
Following one season (2001) as operating backs coach at Washington underneath Rick Neuheisel, Alford returned to Iowa State as McCartney’s assistant coach and operating backs coach for the following 5 seasons (2002-06). Throughout his second stint with the Cyclones, Alford guided Stevie Hicks to a 1,000-yard dashing season, the fifth operating again to take action underneath Alford’s tutelage.
He joined the Iowa State teaching workers as operating backs coach after beginning his collegiate teaching profession within the Midwest at Mount Union (1995) and Kent State (1996). Born in Akron and a local of Ohio for greater than 16 years, Alford moved to Colorado Springs as a highschool senior.
He enrolled at Colorado State and was a four-year letterman from 1987-90. A 1990 Doak Walker Award nominee, Alford gained 1,035 yards in 1989 and set the convention document with 310 yards vs. Utah, a faculty document that stood for twenty-four years. He was a first-team All-Western Athletic Convention choice and earned honorable point out All-American by USA In the present day as a junior. Throughout Alford’s senior yr, Colorado State produced a 9-4 document and certified for its first bowl recreation in 42 years.
Alford was a 1992 graduate of Colorado State with a level in train and sport science. He went on to play for the NFL’s Denver Broncos within the preseason and the Birmingham Hearth of the World League earlier than embarking on a training profession.
Story initially appeared on Wolverines Wire
