Michigan running back Donovan Edwards said he “always stayed connected” with Tony Alford even though they were on opposite sides of the rivalry for the last three years.
www.elevenwarriors.com
Donovan Edwards “Really Wanted” to Play for Tony Alford As A Recruit, Happy to Have Former Ohio State Running Backs Coach at Michigan
As a high school recruit, Donovan Edwards strongly considered the possibility of playing for Tony Alford at Ohio State. Now, Alford will coach Edwards in his final season at Michigan.
Ohio State’s running back recruiting efforts for the 2021 class focused primarily on three top targets: Edwards, TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor. Ultimately, the Buckeyes took commitments from Henderson and Pryor even though Edwards was uncommitted at the time. Edwards, a native of West Bloomfield, Michigan, chose to stay in-state as a result. But he acknowledged Thursday at Big Ten Media Days that he would have loved to play for Alford from the beginning.
“I really wanted to play for him,” Edwards said. “He's a hell of a recruiter. But even more than that, he's a hell of a coach and a hell of a person to get to know. So he's my, I would say, a best friend for me, and I really look up to him a lot.”
Even though they were on opposite sides of the rivalry for the past three years, Edwards said he maintained a relationship with Alford. So he’s thrilled to have the chance to play for Alford in his last year as a Wolverine after Alford left Ohio State for Michigan in March.
“I've always had a relationship with him since the recruiting process. Regardless of the rivalry, we've always had a relationship, we've always stayed connected,” Edwards said. “And for him to come into the Michigan program, he was embraced with open arms. He's a tremendous coach. I see why he's had so much great success as the running backs coach at Notre Dame and at Ohio State. So I think he’s going to be a hell of a running backs coach at Michigan.”
.
.
.
continued