Michigan football fans are waiting with bated breath to find out how top overall 2026 target Savion Hiter’s visit to Tennessee has gone this weekend. After all, there is no one that the Wolverines covet more than the Mineral (Va.) Louisa County five-star running back.
But, as it turns out, there is another behind the scenes that the maize and blue have been working on — one that is completely off the radar.
Tailbacks coach Tony Alford spent nearly a decade in Columbus, coaching the same position at Ohio State before defecting to its biggest rival. Much like he got Michigan on Hiter’s radar, Alford’s radar is perhaps a bit wider than the elite running back. The thought earlier in the cycle is that Hiter would pair with four-star Javian Osborne, but Osborne ended up pledging to Notre Dame.
On Sunday morning, just after midnight, Alford got (what he hopes to be one of two tailbacks) a RB commit in 2026 Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis de Sales three-star Jonathan Brown.
If that high school sounds familiar, it’s the same one that former Michigan linebacker Joey Velazquez—who transferred to rival OSU—originally came from. Even weirder, the quarterback currently at St. Francis de Sales is RJ Day — son of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
As for Brown, he’s rated by 247Sports as the No. 44 tailback in the country and the 37th player in the state of Ohio. He is the 12th commitment in the class. Here is what it looks like as of current:
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football gets RB commit from same Columbus school as Ryan Day’s son
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
