Knoop: Making Sense Of NCAA Vs. Jim Harbaugh In Latest Allegation

For the second time this year, Michigan football is back under NCAA investigation. While there is a ton of hearsay out there right now, and not many facts are on the table, what we do know is the NCAA is investigating Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines for alleged sign-stealing.

Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday:

The NCAA is investigating the Michigan football program for allegedly violating rules that prohibit teams from scouting, in person, future opponents, industry sources told Yahoo Sports. The allegation pertains to NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which reads: “Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited,” sources say.

Of course, Jim Harbaugh came out and 100% denied this. Harbaugh and Athletic Director Warde Manuel both agreed that the University would comply with the NCAA on this investigation, but Harbaugh says he has not directed anyone to go off campus and scout future opponents.

"I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment," said Harbaugh. "I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action."

There is too much gray area out there right now to know anything that's going on. We know there were a couple of coaches from different programs the Wolverines have played who complained about believing Michigan knew what plays they were running before they were snapped.

Is it possible the Wolverines knew? Yes. Is it also possible Michigan self-scouted by watching film and was the better team that day? Also, yes. In theory, we may never know who issued the complaint, nor who the sources are that are giving away this information.

But here's a few things that we do know.

Sign-stealing happens in every program

Sign stealing is not illegal. It happens in every program. I would stand on a mountaintop that every program, including Michigan, has at least one person on staff who has some sort of job to figure out the opposition's signals. It happens, it's a fact. Sign/signal stealing has been a part of the game for centuries.

It came out early Friday morning that a low-level staffer, Connor Stalions is the analyst in question. Pete Thamel with ESPN put out an entire article explaining who Stailons is. He has a military background and has been on staff in the recruiting department since 2022. But he was a volunteer assistant from 2015 - 2022.

Was Stalion's job to figure out signals from other teams? Maybe. Did he do it illegally? Who knows.

But I do know it's a bad look to run his name through the mud if there is no concrete evidence. From everything out there right this second, there is no evidence Stalions has done anything wrong. Oh, there's a photo floating around showing Stalions on the Michigan sideline and an opposing 'source' claiming they knew what he was doing. It's not against the rules to have an analyst on the field.

For a year, Big Ten coaches have known about the Michigan analyst pictured below who they say “spearheaded” UM’s alleged sign-stealing system.

One coach once confronted the UM analyst: “We know what kind of shit you are doing and it’s f***** up.”https://t.co/yE5AXi46wG pic.twitter.com/pycBZ29kXy
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 20, 2023

The NCAA wanted his computer to try and dig up evidence, if nothing is found -- bad look NCAA.

Urban Meyer/Brent Venebales

Here's another fact. Urban Meyer, when he coached Ohio State, admitted he had a staffer whose sole purpose was to watch Michigan and figure out what it was doing. In other words, this staffer was going to try and steal the Wolverines' signals. And it worked.

I've heard from plenty of people that Ohio State knew exactly what Don Brown and the Wolverines' defense was going to run in 2018 and 2019. The Buckeyes scored 62 and 56 points against the Wolverines in those two years.

Urban Meyer has a guy on staff whose sole job was to spy on Michigan 🤔🧐 pic.twitter.com/W6QEOamepT
— Richard (Not Down Bad Right Now) (@umichwolverine1) October 20, 2023

Current Oklahoma head coach and former Clemson defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, has been one of the best in figuring out what offenses were going to run. Going back to the 2021 Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson, Ryan Day didn't hold back when speaking about Venables.

“He's one of the best defensive coordinators in college football,” Day said on Monday. “He does a great job calling the game. Seems to always know exactly what the other team is doing in terms of the plays that they're running, each play. Seems to call the right defense into that play a lot. Why that is, I don't really know, but I can tell you he's been doing it for a really long time and it's a good challenge."

What I'm saying is: Michigan isn't the first to sign steal, and the Wolverines will not be the last. And unless the NCAA can provide concrete evidence that the Wolverines were off-campus scouting, or using electronic devices to share signals, then this whole thing is a sham.

The most confusing thing in the whole matter is the fact that the NCAA can leak information to outlets and Michigan is unwillingly forced to be quiet. Jim Harbaugh, someone who is very outspoken, was forced to end his press release with the following:

"Pursuant to NCAA rules, I will not be able to comment further while this investigation takes place."

How can the NCAA air whatever it likes on the matter but Harbaugh, himself, and his reputation, are on the line, and can't defend himself? Imagine you're accused of something, you're forced to stay quiet and keep it in-house, and can't defend yourself against public opinion.

So the NCAA gets a couple of complaints from schools that believe Michigan may be sign-stealing and someone within the NCAA goes and tells major outlets?

Shortly after the major news broke on Thursday, Nicole Auerbach with The Athletic tweeted the following statement from the NCAA.

NCAA statement:

The NCAA will not comment on specific cases or investigations at this time. The Association will continue to collaborate with member schools and conferences on any possible issues that could impact fair competition.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 19, 2023

NCAA has bigger fish to fry:

If Michigan is found guilty and there is credible evidence supporting the Wolverines sending scouts to schools to 'sign steal', then yeah, this was a valid case. But it feels like it's going to be next to impossible to prove it.

Instead of the all-mighty NCAA focusing on bigger issues in college sports, the inconsistent committee chooses to pick smaller battles. The NCAA is already after Harbaugh for recruiting violations dating back to 2020 when Harbaugh allegedly took recruits out for dinner during the dead period.

But when the SEC, or other prominent schools, offer high school prospects millions of dollars to sign with them -- the NCAA turns its head.

Do we recall what happened to current Arizona State QB Jaden Rashada this past offseason? The Florida Gators offered Rashada $13.4 million to sign with Florida. Paying players to sign is very illegal. There is a difference between NIL usage and paying players, but the NCAA is too afraid to interfere with that.

Instead,it appears the NCAA is more worried about the smaller things in life.

And if the NCAA is truly worried about the integrity of the game and sign stealing, then guess what? Evolve and use helmet comms like the NFL. Allow college teams to put a speaker inside of the helmet and coaches can communicate that way.

Sign stealing would be a thing of the past. It would end immediately and this would never be an issue again.

This latest go-around with Jim Harbaugh just continues to prove how inept the NCAA can be and how inconsistent it is. Show your evidence before accusing a team of doing something that may take months and months to prove. I don't care if it's Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, or Indiana Tech. -- don't throw a team or coach under the bus without credible evidence.