Former Michigan Staffer Connor Stalions Told NCAA He Didn't Steal Signs In Person

Former University of Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions denied stealing signs via in-person scouting during an interview with NCAA investigators in April.

According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach, video clips from the interview are included in the documentary Sign Stealer, which dropped Tuesday on Netflix.

During the interview, Stalions said, "I did not obtain signals through in-person scouting." When asked if he had ever directed anyone else to attend games involving future Michigan opponents, Stalions added, "No, I don't ever recall directing anyone to go to a game."

Michigan suspended Stalions in October amid an NCAA investigation into his involvement in an alleged illegal in-person scouting scheme, and he resigned from his analyst position in November.

Per Schlabach, Stalions is alleged to have attended games of future Michigan opponents himself and to have directed others to attend the games to film the sidelines and decode signals.

Stalions admitted to purchasing tickets to games, but said he resold them or gave them away to friends.

He also said in the documentary that "there are some people who attended games using tickets that I purchased and recorded parts of those games," but he insisted he didn't use the recordings to analyze signs.

Stalions added: "I've had friends send me film. It's kind of like when your aunt gets you a Christmas gift that you already have. You're not going to be rude and be like, 'Oh, I already have this. I don't need that.' It's, 'Oh, thanks, appreciate it.' They feel like they're helping out when I already have the signals, I've already memorized the signals."

As part of the Netflix documentary, Stalions admitted to decoding signs, but said he did so only through reviewing legitimate and legal game tape:

"One, I've never advance scouted. Two, if this was about signals, I obtain signals the way every other team does, through watching TV copies and talking to other intel guys from other teams. What set me apart was the way in which I organized that information and processed it on game day."

Despite Stalions' claims, the NCAA drafted a notice of allegations against the University of Michigan football program this month.

According to ESPN's Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel, the notice of allegations alleged that seven members of the 2023 Michigan football coaching staff violated NCAA rules, including head coach Sherrone Moore.

Moore allegedly deleted 52 text messages from a conversation with Stalions that were later recovered via device imaging.

Moore reportedly could be facing a show-cause penalty and suspension since he is considered a repeat violator of NCAA rules after allegedly illegally contacting recruits during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

As for Stalions, he is back in coaching at the high school level. William McMichael, who is the head coach at Mumford High School in Detroit, said two weeks ago that he hired Stalions as a volunteer defensive coordinator.