Connor Stalions Breaks Silence on Netflix, Denies NCAA Allegations in 'Sign Stealer'

Sports

By Associated Press

Published 3 weeks ago on

August 27, 2024

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, front left, watches against Rutgers as analytics assistant Connor Stalions, right, looks on during an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 23, 2023. (AP/Paul Sancya)

Stalions claims he did not obtain signals through in-person scouting, despite NCAA allegations of impermissible advance scouting.
The documentary reveals Stalions' background, including his role at Navy and his journey to becoming an analytics assistant for Michigan.
Stalions is currently volunteering as a defensive coordinator at a Detroit high school, hoping for a future career in football.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

ANN ARBOR — Connor Stalions broke his silence on Netflix.

The former Michigan football staffer, who resigned amid a scandal last season, was heard publicly for the first time in “Sign Stealer” on Tuesday — two days after the school received a notice of allegations from the NCAA about his operation.

“If I’m a bad guy, then everyone in football is a bad guy,” Stalions said on the latest release of “UNTOLD” on the streaming service.

NCAA Rules and Stalions’ Claims

NCAA rules do not prohibit stealing signs, a role Stalions appeared to have on former coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the Wolverines, but the governing body does ban advance scouting.

“I did not obtain signals through in-person scouting,” Stalions told NCAA investigators during a virtual meeting that was recorded and incorporated into the film.

When investigators asked Stalions if he attended the Central Michigan-Michigan State game on Sept. 1, 2023, he said he didn’t recall.

At another point in the documentary, Stalions was shown alongside an image of a man wearing Central Michigan gear and sunglasses during a night game against the Spartans ahead of their game against Michigan.

“I don’t even think this guy looks like me,” he said with a smirk.

Ticket Purchases and Video Recordings

Records from other Big Ten schools show Stalions bought tickets to numerous games involving future opponents and the NCAA alleges he sent those people to digitally record teams when they signaled plays.

Stalions, though, insisted some of those tickets landed in the hands of people who sent him unsolicited video clips from games and refused to budge when asked about it by NCAA investigators.

“I don’t ever recall directing someone to go to a game,” he said, adding he sold some tickets and transferred others to friends.

Stalions told the NCAA that he didn’t need videos of signs sent to them because he had already memorized them.

In the documentary, Stalions shared details about how he deciphered signs from opposing teams by creating a database with thousands of images of him performing thousands of signals.

Stalions’ Background and Role at Michigan

Before Stalions graduated from the Naval Academy in 2017, he was a volunteer student coach for Ken Niumatalolo and said in the documentary that stealing signs was the role he performed at Navy.

He was a volunteer for Michigan’s football program for years, including when he was stationed in San Diego and slept in his car while renting his house, until Harbaugh hired him 2022.

The retired captain in the Marine Corps was an analytics assistant for the Wolverines when he was suspended in October 2023, a day after the school disclosed it was under NCAA investigation. Stalions later resigned.

“I kind of went in hiding,” he said. “They dragged my name in the mud.”

NCAA investigators were asked by Stalions’ attorney if his personal data, which was obtained by a third party, was taken without consent and they said they were unable to share that information.

The NCAA investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign stealing by Michigan hung over the second half of the team’s unbeaten season last year.

Stalions attended last season’s win over Ohio State, where former linebacker Michael Barrett confirmed in the documentary he saw him at Michigan Stadium.

On the first day director Micah Brown joined Stalions for the documentary, he used his cellphone to record videos of Stalions crying in the stands as confetti fell in Houston during the Wolverines’ national championship celebration after beating Washington in Houston.

Harbaugh Denies Any Knowledge of Impermissible Scouting

Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, has denied any knowledge of impermissible scouting while he was with the program.

Stalions showed a game ball he was given by the program, he said for deciphering signals, after a win over Iowa in 2022.

“Don’t get the big head, Connor,” Stalions recalled Harbaugh telling him.

The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the 2023 regular season to punish Michigan for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy after its investigation of the sign-stealing scheme.

No. 9 Michigan begins the defense of its national championship Saturday night at home against Fresno State.

Stalions was not paid to appear in the documentary but was compensated for footage he provided, according to to SpringHill, the entertainment company that produced the film and is owned by LeBron James and Maverick Carter.

“They wanted to do this and they got access to Connor,” Brown said. “No matter how people view Connor in this film, he should have a career in football and hope he is given that choice.”

Stalions is currently a volunteer coach at Detroit Mumford High School, serving as the football team’s defensive coordinator.