3 reasons Tony Alford is a home run hire for Michigan football

Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore pulled off a stunning hire on Wednesday, stealing away Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford.

There were rumors of a jaw-dropping hire, but nobody knew what that meant. Insiders didn't want to ruin the surprise and there was good reason for that. But it seems like this has been a done deal for weeks. The background checks that took weeks for the defensive assistants, didn't hold up an announcement on Wednesday, likely meaning those were already completed and in the process of happening while Alford was coaching spring ball at OSU.

That's not a fact we can verify but it stands to reason that's what went down, which is awesome. I hope he memorized the playbook on the way out the door. That's a bonus just like it was when the Buckeyes stole away Greg Mattison and Al Washington.

All is fair in love and war and here are three reasons why this a huge win for Sherrone Moore and the Michigan football team.

An adequate replacement for Mike Hart

Denard Robinson was thrown out there as a possible replacement but Alford's resume is incredible. He's coached college running backs for about 20 years. He was hired at Ohio State by Urban Meyer after he worked at Notre Dame.

Alford has an impressive resume. The Buckeyes have also had stellar running backs over the years. However, their offense has shifted away from the run since Ryan Day took over as head coach and I'm sure it was appealing to get back to a program that wants to ground and pound, like the Buckeyes used to under Meyer.

Jordan Marshall and Donovan Edwards were recruited by Alford. They are familiar with him and that should help ease that transiton. They also know they'll be getting coached by a guy who has sent plenty of players to the NFL.