Big Ten staffer who helped decode Michigan’s signs: ‘This was all obtained legitimately’
Tuesday, ESPN reported three teams — Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers — communicating about Michigan’s signs. The Wolverines sent documents to the Big Ten about it, and the new twist comes as they deal with their own sign-stealing scandal.
It’s common practice in college football to steal signs. The Athletic spoke with three Big Ten staffers and one former staffer who helped do just that, including decode Michigan’s signs. One of them pointed out the difference between the Wolverines and their program.
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” the Big Ten staffer told The Athletic. “Zero. They took it to another level. And they can’t hide it. They’re trying to divert it but they can’t hide it.”
The NCAA’s investigation into Michigan stemmed from a nearly 30-year-old rule which prohibited teams from scouting future opponents in-person during the same season. After that news came out, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported analyst Connor Stalions was at the center of the investigation, and multiple reports showed he bought tickets to Big Ten and possible College Football Playoff opponents’ games. He allegedly had people go to those games and film the sidelines.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson reported Stalions bragged about the sign-stealing and compiled his findings what was dubbed the “Michigan Manifesto.”
The alleged filming of the sidelines and attending games in-person, according to a staffer who decoded Michigan’s signs. That staffer said his program goes based off film and compared it to someone sitting on the bench of a baseball dugout and watching a base coach. He also compared Michigan to the Houston Astros, who famously were part of a sign-stealing scheme during their 2017 World Series run.
“This is not like the Astros,” the staffer told The Athletic. “This was all obtained legitimately. We’ve been really good at it (stealing signals), getting stuff off of TV copy. People didn’t go to sites (to obtain intel). We did it legally, like stealing it from the third base coach.”
As the situation continues to unfold, the Big Ten could be gearing up to step in. Under the league’s sportsmanship clause, commissioner Tony Petitti could levy a punishment against Michigan. He held meetings with league coaches, athletic directors and presidents last week before meeting with UM officials on campus. During his conversation with the ADs, a possible suspension of Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh was floated. However, they group didn’t take any action.
Then, on Monday, Michigan received a notice of potential disciplinary action from the conference. The Wolverines have until Wednesday to respond, according to ESPN.
As for Stalions, he announced his resignation late Friday night. In a statement through his lawyer, he said Harbaugh didn’t know about the alleged sign-stealing.