After Tony Alford, Michigan adds new Ohio State member into coaching staff ahead of 2024 season

Michigan has poached another person from the Ohio State Buckeyes to work for the school. Earlier this offseason, the Wolverines landed former Buckeyes running backs coach Tony Alford to be their new running backs coach. Now, according to The Michigan Insider, the Wolverines have hired ex-Buckeye Assistant AD of Football Recruiting & Events Erin Dunston to be their new Director of Operations.

Dunston had worked for the Buckeyes since 2021, and she said she was responsible for coordinating all recruiting efforts. She also focused on visits and unofficial visits for potential recruits.

In a 2023 NBC Sports profile, she was featured to talk about women in sports and her role with Ohio State.

"One of my goals is to be a sports AD over football," Dunston said. "I hope that men in the industry, head coaches and assistant coaches, directors of player development, general managers, that they don't just look at directors of on-campus recruiting as, 'Oh, she's just a recruiter.' That position is so much more."

"You're developing relationships; you're meeting with campus constituents; you're building out itineraries; you're moving hundreds of people; you're getting down to the nitty-gritty of an allergy to food to making sure all four buses are running and ready to go."

Dunston, the new Director of Operations for Michigan, talked about what her job involved.

"It's a lot of operation. It's a lot of relationship building. It's a lot of logistics. And it's a lot of making sure that whatever the program wants to represent is being represented," Dunston said (per247sports).

Before working for Ohio State and now Wolverines, Dunston worked in football operations at Kansas and Purdue.

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Michigan is not favored to win the Big Ten

The Michigan Wolverines have won the Big Ten in the past three straight years and are the reigning national championships. However, heading into the 2024 season, the Wolverines are expected to take a step back after losing several key players.

Michigan lost head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL while also losing key players like J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum. With that, DraftKings is giving the Wolverines the fourth-best odds to win the Big Ten behind Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State.

The Wolverines' odds of winning the Big Ten are +600 which implies a 14.3% chance of it happening. The Wolverines will have notable games against Ohio State, Texas, Washington, USC, and Oregon among others.

The Wolverines will kick off its 2024 season at home against Fresno State on Aug. 31.