Michigan's Desmond Howard: Big Ten should conduct investigation before any punishment of team

As reports of a potential punishment from the Big Ten in regard to allegations of sign-stealing at Michigan continue to ramp up, one person is calling for the conference to take its time with the Wolverines program.

Heisman Trophy-winning receiver Desmond Howard on Wednesday called for the Big Ten to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that former Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions used a network to illicitly glean opposing teams' signs. Howard, now a college football analyst and mainstay on ESPN's "College GameDay," said it "blows his mind" that the Big Ten would consider a rush to judgment.

"How can anybody think that you should punish somebody before a full investigation is executed? Like, how could anybody come up with that thought process where it makes sense? And would you ever want that for you, then?" Howard said. "Because if you're going to do it here then, that means it could happen to you. It just blows my mind that people are like saying there should be punishment before a complete and full investigation.

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"It takes as much time as it takes. You can't control that."

To Howard's point, the Big Ten and first-year commissioner Tony Petitti are reportedly reviewing Michigan's 10-page response to a notice of potential punishment from the conference, which the former issued on Monday. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported there's "no indication of any timetable on a decision."

Howard isn't the only one calling for due process, either. Eleven members of the Michigan House of Representatives penned a bipartisan letter to the Big Ten calling for the conference to conduct an investigation into Michigan before meting out punishment.

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Clouding any potential punishment by the Big Ten are reports that other schools have allegedly engaged similar tactics against the Wolverines. One report suggests Ohio State and Rutgers shared signals with Purdue ahead of the 2022 Big Ten championship game.

Michigan in its 10-page response cautioned the Big Ten not to rush to judgment, claiming that that "in-person scouting, collusion among opponents, and other questionable practices may well be far more prevalent than believed.” However, reports indicate that the remaining Big Ten universities, 12 of which have confirmed Stalions purchased tickets to their game, are angered at the alleged scope of his scouting.

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Reports indicate the universities want Petitti to act quickly and decisively to what they feel is overwhelming evidence against Michigan. The Wolverines program, meanwhile, has argued against what it feels is a lack of actionable evidence, also claiming any punishment for an unadjudicated rule, per the Big Ten's sportsmanship handbook, would be unfair.

How those arguments and counter-arguments weigh on Petitti's decision, if at all, remains to be seen.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Desmond Howard: Big Ten should investigate before any punishment to U-M