In the days leading up to the start of spring practice, Sherrone Moore stayed in regular communication with running back Jordan Marshall, a top-100 prospect and one of the highest-rated signees in Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class.
Change was in the works, and Moore wanted to keep Marshall in the loop. Though it hadn’t been announced publicly, running backs coach Mike Hart wouldn’t be returning to Michigan’s staff. Hart was one of the main reasons Marshall committed to Michigan out of Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School, where he was named Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and Mr. Ohio as a senior. Making sure Marshall was comfortable with his new position coach was a must.
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“I was on the phone with coach Moore on and off for like a week, just talking about it,” Marshall said. “He was like, ‘You’re going to be excited about this dude. It’s going to shock you.’”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Marshall pressed Moore for a name. Moore agreed, as long as Marshall promised to keep it quiet until the hire was announced.
“He told me, and I was like, ‘Wow,’” Marshall said. “I was pretty speechless.”
Tony Alford, Moore revealed, would be leaving Ohio State after nine years to join Michigan’s staff. The move reverberated around Ohio, where Alford was highly regarded as a coach and a recruiter.
Welcome @CoachTonyAlford to the greatest university in the world! 〽️#GoBlue | https://t.co/OS2T9UX4eE pic.twitter.com/V1WXYgb46P
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) March 13, 2024
Moore’s first staff is a mix of old and new, with high-profile additions like Alford and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale coaching alongside familiar faces like offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell, offensive line coach Grant Newsome, wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, who is in his second stint at Michigan. The new staff is still getting established, which has contributed to a slower-than-usual start on the recruiting trail.
For Marshall, the idea of playing for Alford at Michigan was an easy sell.
“We were super close, probably the second closest guy to coach Hart during the recruiting process,” said Marshall, who will arrive in Ann Arbor later this month. “It was a relief that (Moore) got the best guy for the job and I wouldn’t have to start that process of getting to know my new coach all over again.”
Michigan has added two commitments since Moore took over in February, but they were two big ones: edge rusher Nate Marshall, a top-50 prospect from the Chicago area, and offensive lineman Avery Gach, the No. 2 player in Michigan for 2025.
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Those pledges are notable for anyone trying to get an early read on Michigan’s recruiting philosophy under Moore. The offensive and defensive lines were the backbone of Michigan’s program under Jim Harbaugh, and that’s unlikely to change with Moore at the helm.
“We’re going to run the ball, and he’s going to go get the best O-linemen,” Jordan Marshall said. “Him being an O-lineman guy and being the head coach, he’s going to go get every O-lineman, no matter who they are.”
The reviews of Moore as a recruiter are remarkably similar. Without exception, recruits and high school coaches describe him as a football guy who can sit and talk X’s and O’s for hours. He seems to prefer substance over flash and doesn’t go out of his way to attract the spotlight. Among high school coaches who have interacted with Michigan’s staff, granted anonymity so they could speak candidly, there’s a sense that Moore could be more hands-on with recruiting than Harbaugh was.
“I think it was a mutual understanding,” said a high school coach in Michigan whose interactions with Harbaugh were infrequent. “Coach Harbaugh didn’t have to kiss my butt to recruit our guys to the University of Michigan. Coach Moore is maybe different. I think that’s what’s cool. I think Sherrone is going to be his own guy.”
The same high school coach remarked on the chemistry of the Wolverines’ offensive staff and the way Alford ties the staff together. The rest of the offensive coaches have worked together in the past, and Alford’s experience in the Big Ten made him a natural addition, even if it was jarring for a coach to switch sides in the Big Ten’s most heated rivalry.
Both Michigan and Alford offered something the other was looking for. Alford was ready for a new challenge. His pre-existing relationships, particularly in Ohio, filled a need for Michigan following the departure of Steve Clinkscale, who was known as Michigan’s most well-connected recruiter in Ohio.
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“Those relationships have not been severed,” Alford said. “Recruiting is recruiting. It’s about relationships. There’s some great high school football in that state, some phenomenal coaches in that state.”
Alford strives for what he described as “unconditional relationships,” which aren’t predicated on one person doing something for the other. His relationship with Jordan Marshall is an example. Before announcing his commitment to Michigan, Marshall called the other coaches who’d been recruiting him to break the news. Alford was disappointed, but he didn’t turn his back on Marshall. They kept in touch, which made for an easy adjustment when Alford landed at Michigan.
Alford said he bases his relationships on honesty, and sometimes honesty can sting. That’s exactly what Marshall wanted in a coach.
“He gives that tough love,” Marshall said. “That’s somebody I was looking for, someone to tell me I’m sucking today or somebody to tell me I’m doing good. We need those types of people in our lives.”
When asked about his reputation as a recruiter, Alford quipped that it “depends on who you ask.” Though he was responsible for recruiting stars TreVeyon Henderson and J.K. Dobbins, Alford had diminishing returns later in his time at Ohio State. The Buckeyes didn’t sign a running back in their 2023 recruiting class after a late decommitment from four-star prospect Mark Fletcher, and the previous class featured only Dallan Hayden, who has since transferred to Colorado. Still, high school coaches interviewed for this story spoke highly of Alford and his ability to fill Clinkscale’s role as a recruiter in Ohio.
“(Clinkscale) is a tremendous recruiter,” said a high school coach in Ohio. “I put Alford right there, if not above him.”
On defense, Michigan is finding its footing with Martindale and three new assistants. Many players are deep into the decision-making process at this point in the 2025 cycle, and it’s hard for new coaches to make up ground unless there’s a pre-existing relationship, one high school coach said.
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In the case of Nate Marshall, much of the groundwork had been done by former defensive line coach Mike Elston and former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. The pitch didn’t change much with Martindale and new defensive line coach Lou Esposito, a familiar face in the Chicago area from his time as the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan.
Marshall can play inside or outside, but his explosiveness on the edge is what sets him apart, said Matt Battaglia, Marshall’s coach at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill. Michigan recognized that early on, and the appeal of playing a premium position in a pro-style defense carried over with Martindale as the DC.
“Coach Elston and coach Minter were here back to back years,” Battaglia said. “They were on top of Nate and had a plan for Nate since they saw him as a sophom*ore. It had a lot to do with the defensive system they run. They run an NFL system with the current defensive coordinator, who was part of that same system. It’s a lot of simulated pressures, letting their guys play ball and use their athleticism. They really showcased that Nate would be a great fit there.”
With five commitments, Michigan’s class sits at No. 36 in the 247Sports Composite, though that is likely to change as players begin arriving for June visits. In the longer term, questions remain about Michigan’s ability to juggle name, image and likeness, the transfer portal and overall roster management in the post-Harbaugh era. For Jordan Marshall, the hiring of Alford was a sign that Moore is thinking big.
“It really summed it all up, why I chose Michigan and how coach Moore is going to do things,” Marshall said. “He wants the best, no matter what.”
(Photo of Sherrone Moore: Jaime Crawford / Getty Images)
Austin Meek covers Michigan football and basketball for The Athletic. He previously covered college sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal and served as sports columnist at The Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon. Follow Austin on Twitter @byaustinmeek
