Transferring from Michigan to Ohio State or vice versa used to be a cardinal sin in the not-so-distant past. In recent years, switching sides in the rivalry has become all the rage both from players and staff.
Today we’re examining who has worked out in their new home and who hasn’t. If we missed any notable, recent names, be sure to let us know in the comments.
Justin Boren
Boren started the conversation of intra-rivalry transfers. Following Lloyd Carr’s retirement and Rich Rodriguez’s subsequent hire, Boren left for Columbus. In doing so, he became just the third player ever to play for both sides of the Michigan vs. Ohio State rivalry (in football), and the first since 1945 (two brownie points to you if you can name the other two players).
Part of what made this so noteworthy was just how good of an offensive lineman he was. In his two years in Ann Arbor, Boren played sparingly as a freshman but was honorable mention All-Big Ten as a sophom*ore in 2007. He had to sit out 2008 as a transfer before suiting up for two years in Columbus. In those two years, he received several all-conference honors and was even a second-team All-American his senior year in 2010. The Buckeyes certainly got the best years of Boren.
Al Washington
Washington was the most predictable flip in the rivalry. Despite coaching at Michigan in 2018, Washington grew up in Columbus and his father played for Woody Hayes. Returning to Columbus was a natural homecoming for Washington.
He was known as an excellent recruiter and was credited with a large portion of the development of Devin Bush Jr. at Michigan. He stayed at Ohio State for three seasons in which he developed several NFL linebackers in Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard and Pete Werner. He played a critical role in the turnaround of the Buckeye defense.
Today, he coaches the defensive line at Notre Dame, taking over for Mike Elston when he left to go back to his alma mater.
Greg Mattison
In arguably the most controversial of all flips on this list, Mattison left Michigan in the same offseason as Washington, becoming the co-defensive coordinator with Jeff Hafley at Ohio State. It’s tough to tell how much Mattison’s personal contributions helped turn around the Ohio State defense since he always shared the DC title, but Ryan Day attributed the defense’s mental toughness and attitude to Mattison. He lasted just two seasons in Columbus prior to retiring.
Andrew Dakich
Dakich came to Michigan as a preferred walk-on and spent four seasons in Ann Arbor, playing sparingly. He was a well-liked member of the bench mob and even had a podcast with Duncan Robinson at the time. Following his graduation, he elected to spend his grad transfer year at Ohio State.
With Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes, Dakich was forced into a significant amount of playing time due to injuries and attrition. He appeared in 34 games, playing more than 19 minutes per game. However, he averaged just 3.0 points, 2.1 assists and 1.8 rebounds.
Joey Velazquez
Like Washington, Velazquez is a Columbus native who returned to his hometown. Having spent four seasons at Michigan as a dual-sport athlete, he was much more known for his accomplishments on the baseball diamond than the football field. On the gridiron, he didn’t make any appearances in 2023 and was doubtful to see much time in 2024.
Surprisingly, it appears Velazquez will only be playing football at Ohio State. It’s tough to see a path to significant playing time for him with the Buckeye defense.
Roddy Gayle
In the most notable transfer in recent memory, Gayle decided to follow Dusty May to Ann Arbor. After two seasons in Columbus in which he appeared in nearly every game, Gayle will likely be one of the leading scorers for Michigan this season.
As a freshman, Gayle scored just 4.6 points per game but was a lethal three-point shooter at nearly 43 percent. As a sophom*ore, his shooting dipped but his scoring increased exponentially up to 13.5 points per game. He will be one of the leaders of the team this year.
Tony Alford
Finally, a taste of their own medicine. Alford bucked the trend of Michigan coaches leaving for Ohio State by doing the opposite. An ace recruiter, Alford takes over as Michigan’s running backs coach and has the luxury of coaching Donovan Edwards.
At Ohio State, Alford mentored a laundry list of successful running backs, including J.K. Dobbins and Ezekiel Elliott. Time will tell how his career will pan out at Michigan, but he is off to a stellar start on the recruiting trail.
Erin Dunston
Dunston became the latest to join this list, as she announced she would be leaving Ohio State to become a recruiting staffer at Michigan.
She had been the Assistant Athletic Director for Football Recruiting and Events at Ohio State. At Michigan, Dunston is the Director of Operations. Many in Buckeye circles give Dunston large amounts of credit for Ohio State’s recruiting successes in recent years. Hopefully she can carry that over to Michigan.
