\n<\/p>\n
The video evidence of Michigan<\/a>\u2019s signal stealing efforts was shared nonstop on Tuesday, surpassing 17 million views within 36 hours.<\/p>\n The footage, posted by Ohio TV reporter Adam King, shows Michigan<\/a> analyst Connor Stalions standing next to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter before a play and staring down Ohio State<\/a>\u2019s sideline to see a signal. Once he spotted it, Stalions responded with his own signal to help the Wolverines\u2019 defense during the opening drive of last year\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Video from last year’s OSU vs Michigan game appears to show Connor Stalions who is at the center of the alleged sign stealing operation standing next to the UM defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n See their pre-snap interaction:<\/p>\n Here is better quality video and story https:\/\/t.co\/aOX1HCRdmN<\/a>: pic.twitter.com\/Q6nNYt2t9x<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) October 24, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The strong impression made on many: Gotcha! <\/em>Here was the damning proof of Michigan\u2019s in-game cheating.<\/p>\n A college football signal stealer watched the video on Tuesday, too. He didn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n Why are people freaking out about this clip?<\/em><\/p>\n The ongoing Michigan ordeal is being watched with fascination by coaches and staffers in the industry who\u2019ve been stealing signals for years. Although the practice is legal and has been well-documented in the past<\/a>, Stalions\u2019 breaking NCAA rules by purchasing tickets to games<\/a> and allegedly sending people to film future opponents has brought intense new attention.<\/p>\n This coach works at a Power 5 program that does not have Michigan on its schedule this season. In return for participating in this story, he requested no other identifying information be shared; he\u2019s not trying to give up strategies that opponents could copy.<\/p>\n As he\u2019s watched this story unfold over the past week, he\u2019s seeing lots of misperceptions about the unique art of signal stealing and what is and isn\u2019t allowed. If the allegations are true, Stalions crossing the line gives all signal stealers a bad name and makes it harder for them to do what they do best. But this coach is also surprised more than anything: How is it that people never noticed what they\u2019re up to on Saturdays?<\/p>\n \u201cThe clip circulating, I\u2019m like, shoot, that looks like every sideline I\u2019ve been across in America,\u201d he said. \u201cI just think people don\u2019t pay attention to it.\u201d<\/p>\n While there are some secrets he must keep to himself, the staffer was granted anonymity in order to speak as freely as possible to The Athletic<\/em> about how this game within the game actually works. Here are 10 lessons learned from a highly effective signal stealer.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the Ohio State video. To the uninitiated, it looks bad. But Michigan\u2019s coaches were not breaking the rules. Our signal stealer thinks he knows exactly what happened on the play.<\/p>\n Michigan holds up a white sign with a Nike swoosh. That tells the defense to not jump offsides on the hard count because Ohio State is about to check to the sideline. The sign goes down. C.J. Stroud<\/a> and the Buckeyes offense look to their sideline for a call. Michigan\u2019s staff reads it and points to the sky. A new sign with an image of Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young goes up.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably their pass board when they think a pass is coming,\u201d the signal stealer said. \u201cBy the way, everybody\u2019s pointing to the sky now. That\u2019s their sign for pass, another hand signal to alert people.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m at Ohio State, I see that right away and immediately I\u2019m saying, \u2018Hey, we\u2019ve got to go to wristbands right now. They know it. I don\u2019t know how they know it, but they know it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n How the now-suspended Stalions gathered that intel is the subject of the NCAA\u2019s investigation. That\u2019s the important distinction to remember. There\u2019s nothing impermissible about Michigan utilizing the intel for pre-snap decisions and in-game adjustments.<\/p>\n What would be damning? Video evidence of someone filming a team\u2019s sideline on their phone while sitting in a seat paid for by Stalions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would get people in the industry to go, \u2018Oh, they\u2019re f\u2014ed,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n GO DEEPER<\/p>\n Meek: Jim Harbaugh promised a \u2018gold standard.\u2019 Instead, Michigan got more trouble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The lack of awareness about this practice is what\u2019s baffling to our signal stealer, especially given some of the extreme reactions he\u2019s seen over the past week. Again, there\u2019s a clear difference between what Michigan is alleged to have illegally done and what other coaching staffs traditionally do to steal signals. But those who are offended by signal stealing should pay a little attention to their own sideline.<\/p>\n \u201cThe average fans who are crying, \u2018Oh my gosh, look at them cheat!\u2019 Well, wait \u2019til you see your team do it,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause I promise you they\u2019re gonna do it this Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n During a game, it\u2019s relatively easy to spot the staffer who has that particular set of skills if you\u2019re looking for them. Some might be sitting up in the coaches\u2019 box taking notes, but most are standing close to the action. It\u2019s no secret what they\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n For that reason, this coach is not too interested in some of the outrage coming from Big Ten coaches. He fully agrees that off-campus signal scouting is wrong. But he doesn\u2019t want to hear rival coaches deriding standard signal stealing as improper or an integrity issue.<\/p>\n \u201cThey all do it to each other,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s so silly to me about the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The signal stealer has worked for a head coach who suspected rival schools might send people to his open practices or spring games to film signals. That type of paranoia is common. He does not believe Michigan\u2019s alleged scheme is commonplace, calling it \u201cnext-level s\u2014\u201d that crosses the line.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope I\u2019m not na\u00efve in thinking he\u2019s the only one to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n In his experience, there\u2019s no need to cross that line. If you spend enough time studying your opponents with a combination of TV broadcast tape and game tape, you\u2019ll find patterns. The process of carefully watching signalers and logging everything he sees is time- and labor-intensive. It\u2019s not easy to watch tape without sound and crack these codes. But it does tend to pay off.<\/p>\n Stalions has been described as a \u201csavant\u201d and wrote on his since-deleted LinkedIn page that he employed \u201cMarine Corps philosophies and tactics\u201d in his role. The signal stealer insists it\u2019s not that difficult for others to pick up this skill.<\/p>\n \u201cI promise you, within a day, I could take the average fan and watch three TV copies with them and they\u2019ll know signals by the end of it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to signal in a play that a college kid has to comprehend. This isn\u2019t rocket science. The signals are not ridiculously tough to figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019re a signal stealer and you\u2019ve put in the time and effort to decode your next opponent\u2019s signals. You go into Saturday believing you know exactly what to expect. The game kicks off. You begin spying their sideline. You instantly realize you\u2019ve never seen these signals before. They\u2019re brand new.<\/p>\n For an experienced signal stealer, few things are more irritating.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, if they get to your game and they change it all, then that was a whole waste of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When he watches tape, he\u2019s always hoping to see repeated patterns of signals and plays over multiple games. But some games might require 10 signals, and others might only require five. He has to track week-to-week differences. Is it the same guy every game? Do they change it up for quarters or halves?<\/p>\n Another required talent for the role of signal stealer is the ability to see a signal live one time, instantly remember it and make a call. If you know Ohio State just signaled for a pass, that\u2019s great. You still need to execute a simple signal that effectively conveys the intel to the defense as fast as possible.<\/p>\n Pointing to the sky and holding up a Trae Young sign does not give the secondary any tells on where Stroud is throwing the ball. All it does is alert the pass rushers to get after him. The viral clip doesn\u2019t show what happened after the snap: Stroud threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka<\/a> to put Ohio State up 7-0.<\/p>\n A few years ago, the signal stealer\u2019s team suffered a blowout loss in a conference game. What went wrong? They faced a team with a defensive assistant who\u2019s an excellent signal stealer.<\/p>\n \u201cThey knew every single play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Whether that\u2019s actually true is always tough to say, but it sure felt like it. Our coach calls this \u201cgetting got.\u201d The best indication that you\u2019re getting got? When players come off the field and tell coaches that the opponent is calling out where the runs are going or identifying passes. An especially easy tell is when defenses know the signal for screen passes and easily stop them.<\/p>\n After that loss, the signal stealer spent a lot of time in the offseason studying what his counterpart was doing on the sideline in every game. The next time they played, his team used a different system for play calling. If they did signal in a play, they never used the same signal twice. They won the rematch.<\/p>\n It\u2019s really that simple. If a coaching staff is invested in stealing signs, it stands to reason they should also have a plan to prevent sign stealing. If they don\u2019t want to get got, they should be open to making weekly changes. In the previous example, the signal stealer\u2019s team opted to go to a wristband system for play calling.<\/p>\n \u201cTeams that use wristbands don\u2019t have anything to worry about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There are more subtle ways to obfuscate and avoid asking players to learn new signals, like changing the order, pattern and delivery of the sideline signalers or introducing different dummy signals. Sharp signal stealers can still figure out how to crack the new codes, but it takes time and repetition to do that live.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a signal stealing person myself, if you don\u2019t want me to get all your stuff off TV copy, change your signals,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not gonna change your signals, we\u2019re gonna have your signals. Because I\u2019ll put in the work to make sure we get your signals.\u201d<\/p>\n The signal stealer isn\u2019t going to name names, but there are certain coaches he\u2019s faced who did not change their signals even after he got them. He jokes that he can\u2019t help but take that personally.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy that you would hurt your team that way,\u201d he argues.<\/p>\n It sounds illogical that a head coach wouldn\u2019t take signal stealing seriously and change their calls, but in his experience, some are brazen enough to believe they don\u2019t need to change. When asked about Michigan on Tuesday, Colorado coach Deion Sanders told reporters he didn\u2019t fully buy into the idea that sign stealing impacts the outcome of physical football games.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can have someone\u2019s whole game plan. They could mail it to you. You\u2019ve still got to stop it,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n The signal stealer\u2019s response to that take?<\/p>\n \u201cI hope we play Colorado<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t ever change your signals or your signaler and let\u2019s see if it\u2019s just players beat players.\u201d<\/p>\n Another factor to keep in mind: The coaching business is extremely gossipy. The signal stealer\u2019s coaching staff heard the rumors about Michigan filming signals well before the initial Yahoo Sports story<\/a> emerged. They don\u2019t play Michigan. It doesn\u2019t affect them. They still knew. If a Big Ten staff has any awareness of Michigan\u2019s signal stealing practices and didn\u2019t adjust accordingly, that\u2019s inexcusable.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, the burden is on these teams that knew about it and have to play them to change their stuff, too,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s on you to change your signals.\u201d<\/p>\n This brings us to our next lesson: You don\u2019t want a reputation for being great at signal stealing. It\u2019s not helpful. If your foes know that, they\u2019ll make your task tougher. The good ones need to be careful.<\/p>\n Signal stealers study enough tape to know who the other signal stealers are. They see things and they definitely hear things about other programs\u2019 sign-stealing operations. It took almost no time for Stalions to be publicly identified as Michigan\u2019s \u201cmastermind.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the obvious issues Jim Harbaugh and his program are currently facing, our signal stealer raises another: No matter how this plays out, Michigan is going to have a very tough time stealing signals in the rest of its games this season.<\/p>\n The teams that still have to face the Wolverines should be making pregame changes to their signals. Michigan State<\/a> tried an even safer approach against Michigan on Saturday: Their quarterback went to the sideline for the play call and delivered it in a huddle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll play teams that will change up day-of from everything they\u2019ve done that season,\u201d the signal stealer said. \u201cI guess you sort of take it as a compliment, but at the same time, that really sucks after all the work I put in.\u201d<\/p>\n The NCAA investigating Michigan\u2019s signal-stealing operation prompts a question that may be impossible to answer: How many outcomes were impacted? How many losses became wins thanks to impermissibly obtained intel?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really hard question,\u201d the sign stealer said.<\/p>\n Because it\u2019s truly incalculable. These investigations will focus on the extent to which Stalions or others arranged off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents and whether Harbaugh authorized or knew about the scheme. Beyond that, there\u2019s no easy way to prove how those stolen signals changed Michigan\u2019s games beyond anecdotal evidence from rival coaches.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the signal stealer sees it: You can legally get all of this off tape. If you have good enough players and good enough information, you can do damage to the teams that don\u2019t change signals. He agrees Michigan should be punished if the allegations are true. But it\u2019s difficult for him to assess how significant Michigan\u2019s advantage would\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess the best way to say it is: sign stealing, if you have the material, can be very, very effective and win you a lot of games,\u201d the coach said. \u201cIf you go to these (opponents\u2019) games and do it, yeah, that\u2019s obviously gonna have much more of an impact, because you\u2019ll have more tape to go off. But who\u2019s to say these teams that they went and got didn\u2019t change the signals by that time?\u201d<\/p>\n One understandable reaction to the Michigan allegations is renewed interest in permitting in-game, coach-to-player communication technology.<\/p>\n The NFL<\/a> has had it since 1994. The NCAA permitted electronic communication devices in college baseball in 2021. And later this year, it\u2019s coming to college football. The Athletic<\/em> reported on Monday<\/a> that a trial run has been approved for non-College Football Playoff bowl games, an experiment that was already in the works prior to the Michigan revelations.<\/p>\n If a college football staff is gifted at stealing signals, they\u2019re certainly not going to advocate for advancements that cost them their hard-earned edge going into games.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stuff Michigan was allegedly doing was wrong. But the rest of it? Shoot, everybody does that,\u201d the signal stealer said. \u201cSo you\u2019re gonna make everybody change how they do it?\u201d<\/p>\n For these staffers, it\u2019s not that they\u2019re going to lose their jobs. They all perform other coaching or recruiting duties under their official job titles and capacities. Stealing signals is just their in-season side hustle. But getting good at it does make them more valuable.<\/p>\n Our signal stealer isn\u2019t worried. He\u2019s been doing this long enough to know how to adapt. The good ones will find a way to crack whatever comes next. He predicts that even if technology is introduced next season, offenses that want to go fast tempo will still have to use hand signals at some point.<\/p>\n And when they do, he\u2019ll already know them.<\/p>\n (Top illustration: Eamonn Dalton for <\/em>The Athletic; Photos: Ronald Martinez, Rob Carr \/ Getty Images; Andy Lewis \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
1. It\u2019s not illegal<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. <\/strong>Your favorite team is probably doing it, too<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. All you need is tape<\/h2>\n
4. <\/strong>Results not guaranteed<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. <\/strong>Don\u2019t get got<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6. If you get got, you better change<\/strong><\/h2>\n
7. If you don\u2019t change, that\u2019s on you<\/strong><\/h2>\n
8. Opponents know if you\u2019re good at it<\/strong><\/h2>\n
9. If done right, it does change games<\/strong><\/h2>\n
10. Rule changes? No thanks<\/strong><\/h2>\n