Stalions says he ‘never advance scouted’ for U-M
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Adam Rittenberg
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Adam Rittenberg
ESPN Senior Writer
- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.
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Mark Schlabach
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Mark Schlabach
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
Former Michigan football staff member Connor Stalions told NCAA investigators that he never participated in advanced in-person scouting and didn’t purchase tickets for others to attend games of the Wolverines’ future opponents to record their signals.
Stalions made the claims in April during a video interview with NCAA investigators, segments of which were included in the new Netflix documentary “Sign Stealer,” which was released Tuesday.
A lifelong Michigan fan and retired captain in the United States Marine Corps hired as an analyst in 2022, Stalions is the alleged ringleader of a vast sign-stealing operation in which he’s accused of sending people to scout the Wolverines’ future opponents, including recording play signals from teams’ sidelines. The NCAA last week sent Michigan a notice of allegations regarding prohibited off-campus signal stealing. According to the documentary, Stalions faces a three-year ban from coaching that he intends to challenge.
When Stalions is asked by an NCAA investigator if any Michigan coaches or staff members were aware of the alleged scheme to obtain opponents’ signals through in-person advanced scouting, which is banned by the NCAA, he replies, “I did not obtain signals through in-person scouting.”
An NCAA investigator asks Stalions if he ever directed anyone to attend a game in which Michigan wasn’t competing. “No, I don’t ever recall directing anyone to go to a game,” he responds.
Records provided to ESPN by several Big Ten schools — and from some outside the conference — showed Stalions purchased tickets for multiple games involving future opponents. Stalions told NCAA investigators that he frequently purchased tickets to many games and would either resell tickets or transfer them to friends. Michigan suspended Stalions with pay on Oct. 20, pending the outcome of its internal investigation. He resigned Nov. 3.
In the documentary, Stalions tells the NCAA that “there are some people who attended games using tickets that I purchased and recorded parts of those games.” Stalions tells investigators that he didn’t recall who recorded the games but would receive film from some of them. Zachary Couzens, a friend of Stalions and fellow Marine, says in the documentary that he used Stalions’ tickets for several games but that there is “no evidence” of him taking video or pictures.
“I’ve had friends send me film,” Stalions says. “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.”
An NCAA investigator asks Stalions whether he was the man standing in Central Michigan‘s bench area, wearing team-issued gear and sunglasses, for the 2023 season opener at Michigan State, which took place the night before Michigan’s first game in Ann Arbor. Stalions replies that he didn’t recall attending a specific game, although Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy says in the documentary that Stalions admitted to him being on the Central Michigan sideline. Central Michigan has told ESPN it continues to cooperate with the ongoing NCAA investigation.
Stalions’ attorney, Brad Beckworth of Austin, Texas, interjects during the NCAA interview, claiming that Stalions’ personal information was illegally breached, which led to the NCAA probe of Michigan.
“If that’s true, it’s certainly a violation of civil law and it’s maybe a bigger crime,” Beckworth tells the NCAA investigators. “And if it’s true that came from somebody associated with or tied to The Ohio State University — and we think it was — that’s where if I was going to try to do right I might be focusing.” When an NCAA investigator declines to provide how information about Stalions was obtained, Beckworth ends the interview.
In the documentary, Stalions says he realized that Michigan was at the bottom of an “intelligence operations totem pole” shortly after he joined the staff on a volunteer basis in 2018. At the end of the 2018 season, Stalions received a call from someone at another school who introduced him to an “underground community of college football analysts” who trade elements of schemes and game plans to learn certain signals.
“You don’t know you’re at the bottom if you don’t have a guy who focuses on that,” Stalions says. “Based on my experience, 80 to 90 percent of teams have one of those intel operations staff members.”
Stalions said he was able to decipher opponents’ signals through watching tape, obtaining information from other staff members who were part of the network and memorizing thousands of signs.
“One, I’ve never advance scouted,” he said in the documentary. “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.”
Stalions is now working as a volunteer defensive coordinator at Mumford High School in Detroit.
Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL, has denied knowledge of the sign-stealing scheme.
ESPN reported on Aug. 4 that new Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore is one of seven members from the 2023 football program accused of violating NCAA rules in a draft of the NCAA’s notice of allegations.
The NCAA notice of allegations stated that Moore could face a show-cause penalty and possibly a suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions in October 2023 on the same day that media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture the playcalling signals of future opponents.
The draft states that the texts were later recovered via “device imaging” and Moore “subsequently produced them to enforcement staff.” Moore, who is accused of committing a Level II violation, said earlier this month that he looks forward to the release of the texts.
Harbaugh, former assistant coach Chris Partridge, former staff member Denard Robinson and Stalions are also accused of committing Level I violations, the most serious category in the NCAA’s enforcement process. Michigan also faces a Level I violation charge, according to the draft, because of its “pattern of noncompliance within the football program” and institutional efforts to hinder or thwart the NCAA’s investigation. Former assistant coaches Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale are also accused of recruiting violations unrelated to Stalions in the draft.
The Big Ten Conference suspended Harbaugh from coaching his team’s final three games of the 2023 regular season because it said his program violated the league’s sportsmanship policy.
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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