Big Ten opponents were aware of 'elaborate scheme' and Michigan assistant at center of it

A Michigan hat tugged low, dressed all in blue and gripping a white playsheet — or is it? — the Wolverines analyst and Naval Academy graduate paces the sideline behind more prominent coaches Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

At various points, Connor Stalions would make a signal: point to his shoulder, gesture to the ground, tap his head. He was in constant communication with the full-time assistants around him, whispering to them as the opposing offense broke the huddle.

“He spearheads the operation,” one Big Ten school coach told Yahoo Sports in an interview Thursday. “I once told (Stalions), ‘We know what kind of sh** you are doing and it’s f***** up.’”

Multiple Big Ten staff members identified Stalions as Michigan’s sign-stealing guru after the school was ensnared Thursday in an NCAA investigation. ESPN reported late Thursday night that the NCAA’s investigation into Michigan’s sign stealing is focusing on Stalions, who joined the Michigan staff in spring of 2022 as a recruiting analyst.

Stalions has subsequently been suspended by Michigan with pay.

Since his name emerged, Stalions has scrubbed his social media. He deleted his Instagram and Twitter accounts, which were active Thursday afternoon.

But well before the NCAA got involved, those within the league knew of Stalions and his sign-stealing expertise.

“We were told to be careful because they had a guy who could pick plays,” says one Big Ten head coach. “It was too late in the week to change our signals, but another staff did tell us about (Stalions).”

Stealing an opponent’s signals during a game or even from television broadcasts is quite common in college football and is not against NCAA rules. However, the NCAA’s investigation is more focused on how Michigan and Stalions gained information on their opponents to learn such signals.

If the school learned information through in-person scouting of future opponents’ games, that violates a near 30-year-old NCAA rule. If the school learned information through the use of recording or video devices, that violates another NCAA bylaw.

Harbaugh’s involvement or knowledge of the alleged scheme is unclear. In a statement Thursday, the head coach denied knowledge of stealing signs and in-person scouting of opponents.

In a statement, a Michigan spokesperson said the school will have no further comment on the matter as it is an ongoing investigation. The school is “committed to the highest ethical and integrity standards,” the statement said.

Stealing signs, even to this magnitude, is an issue that provokes disagreement from an ethical standpoint. One Big Ten school source described Michigan’s sign-stealing system as an “elaborate scheme” that relied on a combination of video footage and in-person recordings and something that should be banned.

“Some things are so obvious you don’t do it. It doesn’t need to be written down,” said one source.

Others paint the picture differently: “If you don’t like it, stop it,” another staff member said.

Either way, this is a months-long situation that dates back to at least last season. News of the sign stealing spread enough that multiple Michigan opponents this season dropped its signaling and used wristbands for much of the offensive play-calling during the game against the Wolverines.

Ohio State staff members knew of the issue ahead of their game against the Wolverines last season. The staff “changed things up” ahead of the game to combat the signaling issue, one support member told Yahoo.

“We heard they had a guy pick plays pretty good and had all this information from not your typical ways of getting the signals,” the staff member said. “We get into the game and it’s the second quarter. I see him across the field and he’s checking his 11x17 sheet.”

One Big Ten school coach said Michigan used “backdoor” methods to obtain signage information. Word had spread enough that one Big Ten school feared Michigan staff members were in attendance at one of their games earlier in the season capturing signals.

A few weeks later, in the game against the Wolverines, that same team called the game mostly using wristbands. However, some plays were signaled in. On those plays, staff members spotted Stalions either signaling into the game or gesturing to another assistant.

“As soon as we flashed something, he knew it right away,” one coach said. “You go through the film and you start seeing a trend of certain coverages versus run and pass. They’re getting into the best looks you can get into.”

According to LinkedIn, Stalions served as a student assistant for the Navy football program while in school there in 2013-2016 and was a graduate assistant on the staff. In his LinkenIn bio, Stalions described himself as being adept at “identifying the opponent's most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action” and “identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process.”