Alabama WR says team 'not allowed' to watch individual film because of U-M sign stealing

LOS ANGELES — Alabama coaches instructed players to change their film habits ahead of the team's Rose Bowl matchup with Michigan football as a response to its sign-stealing scandal.

Wide receiver Isaiah Bond, one of a handful of Crimson Tide offensive players made available Thursday morning, told the Free Press the coaching staff informed the players Michigan was allegedly poaching information off of the team's Catapult system, which tracks various performance-based analytics such as sprint distance, top speed, and power.

"I guess they were taking times from, but they made it down anyways for the playoffs," Bond said. "I mean, when we get on the field, they're going to have to play us anyways, so all that sign-stealing won't help."

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To ensure security, Bond said the team has only watched film as a group, not as individuals or in specific position groups, and went as far as to say the players are "not allowed to" do so on their own.

"We was able to watch film as a team, but, like, personally we can't watch film because I don't know, some reason, Michigan stealing signs," Bond said. "Our coaches told us that probably like a week ago, right before we left to come here."

It's is the latest development in a scandal that has followed the Wolverines since it surfaced more than two months ago.

Former recruiting staffer Connor Stalions is alleged to have masterminded a scheme to film the sidelines of future opponents, which he then allegedly used to decode sideline signals, a violation of NCAA bylaws against in-person advance scouting.

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He was placed on paid leave and then resigned, but that wasn't the only fallout. Linebackers coach Chris Partridge was fired after he told players not to speak to investigators about the situation; in November, head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games by the Big Ten for violating the league's sportsmanship policy.

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The only Alabama staffer made available Thursday morning to confirm Bond's claim was offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. The former Notre Dame quarterback avoided the question about Bond's statement.

"I understand the question and I respect it, but I'm not putting my focus into that," Rees said. "I'm just trying to give our players the best chance to have success."

Alabama running back Jase McClellan, however, confirmed that the Crimson Tide has changed its video watching plan.

"Just being more secure with it," McClellan said. "Somebody got information, you never know. So we just send it to one computer that the coaches have, so that's how we watch."

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McClellan missed the SEC championship game against Georgia after sustaining a foot injury the previous week. Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Wednesday at Disneyland the expectation was for his running back to play.

"I think two weeks ago, they came up and told us, 'We're going to watch as a whole unit,' we weren't going to get individual film," McClellan said. "So that's when we made the change, instead of individual groups, running back groups."

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said Thursday he is preparing all the same.

"The biggest thing is to try and be the most prepared for situations in the game," Milroe said. "I'm watching film as much as possible. So I can't really speak on that, but for me, I've been preparing as much as possible."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alabama coaches told team not to watch film amidst U-M sign stealing