Purdue coach Ryan Walters acknowledges team has changed its signals ahead of Michigan game
Walters said his team could huddle for the first time all season on Saturday
Don’t worry, Purdue fans. The Boilermakers have changed their signals for Saturday’s game against Michigan.
Purdue coach Ryan Walters said on his radio show Thursday night that his coaching staff had to teach the players new signals amid the sign-stealing scandal at Michigan.
“It’s unfortunate and what’s crazy is there weren’t allegations,” Walters said. “It happened. And there’s video evidence, there’s ticket purchases and sales that you can track back and we know for a fact that they were at a number of our games and so we’ve had to teach our guys a new language in terms of some signals and we’ll operate differently offensively. You might see us in a huddle for the first time this season.”
Purdue head coach Ryan Walters talks about the changes his team has had to make in preparation for Michigan this week. "We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games. We've had to teach our guys a new language." pic.twitter.com/AlG2Havh3W
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) November 2, 2023
Purdue is a 32.5-point underdog at Michigan in a rematch of the 2022 Big Ten championship game.
Walters’ comments Thursday came as Big Ten coaches and athletic directors are pushing for the conference to act regarding Michigan’s in-person sign stealing. An NCAA investigation into the Wolverines’ alleged actions is ongoing and the Wolverines have suspended staffer Connor Stalions with pay after he was revealed to be at the center of the alleged multi-year operation.
Per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger and Dan Wetzel, the Big Ten could elect to punish Michigan by suspending Jim Harbaugh under the league's sportsmanship clause. That option has been discussed by the conference.
The policy was at the center of discussions last week between school leaders and [Big Ten commissioner Tony] Petitti. According to the policy, the commissioner can take disciplinary action that is considered “standard” or “major.”
Standard action includes a fine not exceeding $10,000 and a suspension of no more than two contests. Major action is anything exceeding those penalties and is subject to approval from the Big Ten executive board of presidents.
Michigan is 8-0 and was ranked at No. 3 in Tuesday night's initial College Football Playoff rankings. The Wolverines are looking for their third consecutive playoff berth after losing in the semifinals in each of the past two seasons. The Wolverines lost to TCU at the end of the 2022 season and the Horned Frogs made sure to change their signals before the game as they were aware of Michigan's alleged scheme.
