Jim Harbaugh is gone, but the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry hasn’t missed a beat.
The rivalry is alive and well, as Michigan showed by hiring Ohio State’s Tony Alford to replace Mike Hart as running backs coach. Convincing Alford to switch sides was a coup for Sherrone Moore, who is already 1-0 against Ryan Day after coaching the Wolverines to a victory in November. It only adds to the pressure on Ohio State to snap a three-game losing streak against Michigan and reassert control of the rivalry now that Harbaugh is gone to the NFL.
Ohio State has attacked this offseason with urgency, hiring Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator and adding transfers Caleb Downs from Alabama, Will Howard from Kansas State and Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss. Michigan has a new head coach, a new defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale and numerous starting jobs up for grabs. With spring practice underway, beat writers Cameron Teague Robinson and Austin Meek are here to break down the offseason developments for both programs.
Meek: Let’s start with the news that had people talking on both sides of the rivalry. Hiring Alford away from Ohio State was a splashy move for Moore, similar to the one Day made when he hired Greg Mattison and Al Washington from Michigan to join his first staff. Anytime Michigan can get better at Ohio State’s expense, the Wolverines are going to consider that a win. How did Alford’s departure go over in Columbus? Is it a cause for concern or is it just a case of a coach being ready for a change of scenery after nine years at one school?
Teague Robinson: It went over about how one might expect. There were a lot of angry Ohio State fans who now consider him a traitor. I don’t think the problem was with Alford leaving so much as it was leaving for Michigan — after the Buckeyes had already started spring practice too.
Honestly, Ohio State probably needed a new face at that spot. Alford has missed in recruiting a decent amount recently and even had back-to-back years of Florida running back commits flipping to Miami. He was one of the few people on the staff not to get an extension this offseason, so for a lot of reasons I think Alford leaving made sense. It’s a chance for him to have more job security at another school.
Still, to choose Michigan can’t help but leave a sour taste in fans and players’ mouths. It’s not going to be a nice welcome for him on Nov. 30 when the teams meet in Columbus. I think Ohio State will find a capable replacement to fill that role, despite the timing, but there’s no doubt Alford is drawing plenty of ire. Harbaugh just left, but Moore is wasting no time adding some more juice to the rivalry.
Tony Alford made an abrupt rivalry coaching switch. (Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network)
I’m curious how it went over for Michigan fans. Obviously Hart had a lot of success there, but it’s a weird thing when you dislike a coach for years because he’s on the other side of the rivalry and then have to flip and jump on the bandwagon.
Meek: It was hard to know what to make of Hart’s departure, as neither side addressed it publicly in any way. Hart is one of Michigan’s all-time great players, and nobody in Ann Arbor was happy to see him go. I don’t think anybody was surprised, either, based on the way things had been trending since the season ended.
Replacing a Michigan legend with a coach from Ohio State shows that Moore isn’t afraid to play hardball, which is what it takes to stay on top in this rivalry. I doubt Michigan fans will have trouble embracing Alford, especially if he can enhance Michigan’s recruiting. That was the one knock on Hart: He recruited Jordan Marshall, a top-100 prospect out of Ohio in the Class of 2024, but otherwise Michigan was hit and miss with running backs. Maybe Alford can change that.
Alford’s move is part of a broader story, as both teams had staff changes this offseason. What has stood out to you so far after talking with Kelly and seeing his influence on the offense this spring?
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Teague Robinson: Things have been hard to read so far. Players didn’t have pads on during the first week of spring practice, and the depth chart is still evolving — especially with newcomers.
Still, I think it’s a good sign when Ryan Day says that Kelly has already made tweaks to the run game, where Judkins has arrived to join TreVeyon Henderson in a loaded backfield. That’s Kelly’s strength, and I think he’ll be able to help there this spring as they search for Alford’s replacement. More than anything, though, it’s been interesting watching Day float around practice more than before. He seems to be embracing the idea that he can hop between positions and oversee the entire roster. I think that will be a huge benefit this fall.
Speaking of coaches in new roles, how do you think Moore has adjusted to being the full-time coach? He did well as the interim, but it’s his program now.
Meek: I don’t think Moore expected as much staff turnover as Michigan had, so his first few weeks were challenging in that regard. Losing defensive coordinator Jesse Minter wasn’t a surprise, but Michigan had hoped to retain strength coach Ben Herbert and some of its other defensive coaches. Instead, the entire defensive staff followed Harbaugh to the Chargers, which left Moore with a bunch of jobs to fill.
Hiring a coach of Martindale’s stature to run the defense shows that Moore is confident in his own role. Moore didn’t bring in a young defensive coordinator that he knew he could boss around. Instead, he hired one of the most established coordinators on the market and took an active role in hiring the rest of the defensive staff. Time will tell how it all works out, but Moore’s fingerprints are on all of those moves.
The matchup between Martindale and Kelly will be one of the fascinating subplots of the rivalry. Between them, those two guys have seen a lot of football.
Teague Robinson: Honestly, that’s one of the matchups I’m most excited to watch in the game this year.
I don’t think it’s even a debate that Ohio State has the more talented team, but the chess match between Kelly and Martindale is going to be fun. As you said. they’ve both seen a lot of football and if anybody can counter some of the creative stuff that Kelly does with the Buckeyes’ talent I think it is someone like Martindale.
I just love that even in a year when Ohio State looks like the big favorite, there are still so many storylines surrounding the rivalry, between the new coaches, Alford coming back to Columbus and Ohio State’s junior class returning for a chance to finally win this game and a national championship. The rivalry never stops, as we know, but it also doesn’t seem to lack juice even with the departure of Harbaugh.
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Meek: Even though Michigan is coming off of a national championship, the Wolverines are the team with way more questions this spring. With players like Will Johnson, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant coming back, the defense should be very good and possibly elite. But the offense? That’s definitely a work in progress.
I couldn’t tell you right now who Michigan’s starting quarterback will be. Getting Jack Tuttle back for a seventh year gave Michigan a veteran option, and Alex Orji has an intriguing skill set. Freshman Jadyn Davis has a ton of promise, but he might be a year away. Unless someone emerges from the pack this spring, it feels like Michigan could be looking for a quarterback well into the fall.
What about Ohio State? Is Howard definitely the guy, or is there room for someone else to make a move?
Teague Robinson: My gut tells me that this is Howard’s job to lose, but Ohio State started the spring by giving first-team reps to Devin Brown. We spoke to Brown before spring started and he has an attitude about him that just convinces me he’s going to battle and push Howard for the spot.
I think it will end up being Howard, though Brown will make this a competition at least to the end of spring. If he stays on the roster instead of entering the portal, he has a chance to be the guy in 2025. For now, Howard’s legs, experience and ability to read coverages are exactly what Ohio State needs in Kelly’s offense.
My prediction is Howard and I think people are going to see this offense and wonder why they couldn’t do this a year ago with Kyle McCord. Regardless, it’s all another storyline to follow: It’ll be two new quarterbacks making their imprint on the rivalry. I love it all. Give me all the rivalry juice and storylines. There will surely be no shortage of things to write about on that front.
(Top photo of Donovan Edwards: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
