Sources: U-M staffer eyed as center of scheme

• Pete Thamel Mark Schlabach Close Mark Schlabach ESPN Senior Writer Senior college football author Author of 7 books on college football

  Graduate of the University of Georgia Oct 20, 2023, 12:47 AM ET A low-level staffer with

• a military background has actually become among the
• linchpins in the NCAA investigation into

Michigan’s supposed sign-stealing operation, sources told ESPN on Thursday.Connor Stalions, a football expert with the Wolverines and a retired captain in the United States Marine Corps, is a person of interest in the examination into whether No. 2-ranked Michigan breached an NCAA rule by hunting future opponents face to face at games, sources said. The NCAA prohibited such scouting in 1994. Sources said the NCAA enforcement personnel’s level of interest in Stalions is so substantial it looked for access to his computer as part of its investigation.

Sources showed that the procedure is underway, although it doubts what detectives will find.Attempts by ESPN to reach Stalions were not returned. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel did not return a request looking for comment.A source informed ESPN that the Wolverines have used an”fancy” searching system

to take signals from future opponents because at least 2021. With the continuous NCAA investigation into Michigan recruiting and coach Jim Harbaugh possibly

dealing with extra charges there, this different investigation could significantly increase his direct exposure to additional suspension.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated In a declaration Thursday, Harbaugh denied any knowledge of or involvement in the supposed plan to steal opponents’signals through hunting journeys to out-of-town games. Harbaugh stated he would completely comply in any investigations and doesn’t”excuse or tolerate

anybody doing anything

unlawful or

versus NCAA rules.””I do not have any knowledge or info relating to the University of Michigan football program unlawfully taking signals, nor have I directed any employee or others to participate in an off-campus hunting project,”Harbaugh said in the statement.If the accusations are proven to be true, Michigan would have breached NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states:”Off-campus, in-person hunting of future opponents(in the very same season)is prohibited.”Michigan and the Big Ten were alerted by the NCAA of the investigation Wednesday, and the conference stated it had informed the Wolverines

‘future opponents, including Michigan State, which hosts Michigan in East Lansing on Saturday.”The Big Ten Conference considers the stability of competitors to be of utmost value and will continue to keep track of the investigation,”the conference said in a statement.Even though Harbaugh stated he had no understanding of the alleged plan, pursuant to NCAA Law 11.1.2.1, a head coach is”presumed to understand what is happening in his program and for that reason, can be accountable for the actions of his personnel and people related to the program.”According to the NCAA,” if an accusation of Law 11.1.2.1 is made against a head coach, then the coach must rebut the anticipation that he understood what was occurring in his program and show that he did in fact set an appropriate tone of compliance and reasonably kept an eye on the activities of his program. “”I have no awareness of anyone on our personnel having actually done that or having directed that action,”Harbaugh stated in his declaration.” No matter what program or organization that I have led throughout my profession, my directions and awareness of how we search challengers have always been strongly within the rules.”Around Michigan’s football structure, Stalions is known to technically work in the recruiting department under director of hiring Albert Karschnia. However a source stated it was known in the building that he spent much of his time analyzing opponents’signals, often enjoying tv copies of opponents’games. On Stalions ‘Instagram page, there are images of him on the sideline next to 2 of Michigan’s previous defensive

playcallers, Don Brown and Mike Macdonald.”He had one function,”stated a source with knowledge of Michigan’s staff.What is crucial to the NCAA case isn’t what Stalions did while breaking down television copies of games to find out and decode opponents ‘signals. It’s whether illicit approaches were used, which are alleged to consist of challenger scouting in different venues and was banned by the NCAA nearly three years earlier as a cost-cutting step to bring more equity to the sport.Sign stealing likewise violates NCAA rules if a group uses

electronic equipment to figure out signals and communicate the info to players and

coaches. According to the 2023 NCAA football rule book,”any attempt to record, either through audio or video indicates, any signals offered by an opposing player, coach or other group personnel is prohibited.”The accusations against Michigan appear to transcend the normal coach griping about opposing coaches taking signals, as the depth of the allegations– and the Big 10’s on-record affirmation of an investigation– mean something far more significant.The accusations have actually rattled coaches and administrators around the Big 10.”This is even worse than both the Astros and the Patriots– it’s both use of technology for a competitive advantage and there’s accusations that they are filming prior games, not just in-game, “a Big Ten source said.”If it was simply an in-game circumstance, that’s various. Going and recording somewhere you’re not expected to be. It’s unlawful. It’s too much of an advantage.” Stalions, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, was worked with as an off-field expert at Michigan in May 2022, according to a bio on his LinkedIn account. In the bio, Stalions wrote that he tries

to”use Marine Corps approaches and methods into the sport of football concerning methods in staffing, recruiting, scouting, intelligence, planning and more. “Among the abilities Stalions blogged about on LinkedIn were” recognizing the opponent’s probably strategy and most hazardous course of action”and” identifying and making use of vital vulnerabilities and center of mass in the challenger searching procedure.”The child of 2 Michigan alumni, Stalions registered at the Naval Academy and was a trainee assistant for the Midshipmen from 2013 to 2016. After being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2017, Stalions worked as a graduate assistant at Navy before starting his basic training, according to his LinkedIn account.While he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, Stalions wrote, he functioned as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan from Might 2015 to Might 2022.” On top of my everyday duties as a Logistics Officer leading [40-plus] at a time, I volunteered for

the Michigan football personnel, flying back [and] forth on my own dime, assisting the defensive personnel,”Stalions wrote.In a profile of Stalions on the website Soldiers to Sidelines in January 2022, he stated he bought a home and rented each of the bedrooms on Airbnb, while sleeping on the couch, to help spend for his travel to

Ann Arbor, Michigan.Stalions retired as a captain in the Marine Corps in May 2022 and signed up with Michigan’s personnel as an off-field analyst.Harbaugh already faces NCAA charges of failure to comply and head coach responsibility associated to alleged recruiting infractions during the COVID-19 dead duration. A violation by a member of his training staff might set off another charge of head coach responsibility, which could be a Level I violation.The NCAA Committee on Infractions rejected a four-game negotiated suspension for Harbaugh in the recruiting case, and Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension. With that case still needing to be solved, an additional head coach obligation charge based upon supposed signal stealing would significantly increase his exposure to extra punishment, including a longer suspension.Michigan still

is facing 4 Level II infractions, which are thought about less severe, from those declared infractions. The NCAA is not expected to announce a ruling in that case until 2024. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.