Ryan Walters: 'We've had to teach our guys a new language' due to Michigan scandal
After a bye week last week, Michigan will be back on the field on Saturday when the Wolverines welcome Purdue in prime time. It’s also the second game they’ll play since news broke of sign-stealing allegations against the program as part of an NCAA investigation centered on analyst Connor Stalions.
Boilermakers head coach Ryan Walters said he and his staff have taken steps to change their signs for the Saturday night game. He likened it to learning a “new language,” and Purdue will do some different things.
“It’s unfortunate,” Walters said Thursday on his radio show. “And what’s crazy is they aren’t allegations. It happened. There’s video evidence, there’s ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games. We’ve had to teach our guys a new language, in terms of some signals and we will operate differently offensively. You might see us in a huddle for the first time this season. It is what it is. But we’re excited to go play, and I think it’ll make for a great story.”
Stalions allegedly bought tickets to multiple Big Ten teams and possible College Football Playoff opponents as part of the sign-stealing plan, according to multiple reports. The NCAA is three weeks into its investigation, but the question remains if the Big Ten will step in.
Commissioner Tony Petitti has met with conference coaches and athletic directors over the last 48 hours. Wednesday, the coaches called for Petitti to take action against Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, wondering why it’s taking so long for the conference to step in, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported.
Then, on Thursday, Petitti met with Big Ten athletic directors to discuss the situation, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel. The ADs also urged the conference to take action and voiced support for whatever decision the league made on a penalty.
Petitti has the authority to punish Michigan because of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship cause, which is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”
“Standard action includes a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a suspension of no more than two contests,” Dellenger and Wetzel wrote. “Major action is anything exceeding those penalties and is subject to approval from the Big Ten executive board of presidents.”
The next big question about the situation is how long the NCAA’s investigation will take. Three weeks ago, the NCAA opened its inquiry into Michigan, and ESPN later reported it centered on Stalions, who has been suspended with pay pending the results of the investigation.
According to Yahoo Sports’ report, Petitti said the NCAA is putting the sign-stealing inquiry on an “accelerated” path.