The dominos in the NCAA investigation for Michigan football’s alleged sign stealing — and in-person scouting of future opponents — continue to fall.
Connor Stalions, identified as a possible member of the controversy, was suspended with pay by the university Friday, according to Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel.
While the length of his suspension remains unclear, the NCAA’s investigation team reportedly wanted access to the computer that Stalions — an analyst with the Wolverines and a retired United States Marine Corps captain — used, ESPN reported.
Scouting future opponents in-person has been banned in college football since 1994.
It marks the latest development in the scandal facing the Wolverines, who were notified about the NCAA’s investigation Wednesday before developments started to trickle out the next day.
A Big Ten coach told Yahoo! Sports that Stalions — who started with the university in 2022 — “spearheads the operation” and that “it’s f—ked up,” while ESPN added that the “elaborate” sign-stealing violations date back to 2021, which would’ve been before Stalions joined the program.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said in a statement Thursday that he didn’t know about the alleged operation and sign-stealing, adding that he hasn’t “directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment.
“I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action,” Harbaugh said.
But the operation, according to multiple reports, appears to have been something that even opposing coaches knew about — with a Big Ten head coach describing Stalions’ reputation as a “guy who could pick plays,” according to Yahoo! Sports.
Since news broke about the investigation and Saltions’ alleged involvement, he has seemingly deactivated Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
It’s the second controversy that Michigan’s football program has faced this season, as Harbaugh was investigated — and later suspended for three games via the university’s self-imposed consequence — for violations of recruiting policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harbaugh’s negotiated four-game suspension wasn’t approved by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, which led to Michigan suspending the 59-year-old head coach who has been in charge of the program since 2015.
He returned for Michigan’s 31-7 victory against Rutgers on Sept. 23.
The Wolverines, ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll and on track for another appearance in the College Football Playoff, face Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Saturday with a chance to move to 8-0.
Read more
