Bash Riprock

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38704984/michigan-suspends-connor-stalions-ncaa-investigation Michigan suspends the staffer in question Connor Stalions

Looks like they have targeted an individual...ex-military with UM ties. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38700739/michigan-staffer-eyed-center-elaborate-scouting-scheme-sources-say Michigan staffer eyed as center of 'elaborate' scouting scheme, sources say A low-level staffer with a military background has emerged as one of the linchpins in the NCAA investigation into Michigan's alleged sign-stealing operation, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Connor Stalions, a football analyst with the Wolverines and a retired captain in the United States Marine Corps, is a person of interest in the investigation into whether No. 2-ranked Michigan violated an NCAA rule by scouting future opponents in person at games, sources said. The NCAA prohibited such scouting in 1994. Sources said the NCAA enforcement staff's level of interest in Stalions is so significant it sought access to his computer as part of its investigation. Sources indicated that the process is underway, although it's uncertain what investigators will find. Attempts by ESPN to reach Stalions were not returned. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel did not return a request seeking comment. Around Michigan's football building, Stalions is known to technically work in the recruiting department under director of recruiting Albert Karschnia. But a source said it was known in the building that he spent much of his time deciphering opponents' signals, often watching television copies of opponents' games. On Stalions' Instagram page, there are photos of him on the sideline next to two of Michigan's former defensive playcallers, Don Brown and Mike Macdonald. "He had one role," said 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 learn and decode opponents' signals. It's whether or not illicit methods were used, which are alleged to include opponent scouting in different venues and was outlawed by the NCAA nearly three decades ago as a cost-cutting measure to bring more equity to the sport. Sign stealing also violates NCAA rules if a team uses electronic equipment to decipher signals and relay the information to players and coaches. According to the 2023 NCAA football rule book, "any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited." The allegations against Michigan appear to transcend the normal coach griping about opposing coaches stealing signals, as the depth of the allegations -- and the Big Ten's on-record affirmation of an investigation -- hint at something much more significant. The allegations have rattled coaches and administrators around the Big Ten. "This is worse than both the Astros and the Patriots -- it's both use of technology for a competitive advantage and there's allegations that they are filming prior games, not just in-game," a Big Ten source said. "If it was just an in-game situation, that's different. Going and filming somewhere you're not supposed to be. It's illegal. It's too much of an advantage." Stalions, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, was hired as an off-field analyst at Michigan in May 2022, according to a bio on his LinkedIn account. In the bio, Stalions wrote that he attempts to "employ Marine Corps philosophies and tactics into the sport of football regarding strategies in staffing, recruiting, scouting, intelligence, planning and more." Among the skills Stalions wrote about on LinkedIn were "identifying the opponent's most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action" and "identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process." The son of two Michigan alumni, Stalions enrolled at the Naval Academy and was a student assistant for the Midshipmen from 2013 to 2016. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 2017, Stalions worked as a graduate assistant at Navy before beginning his military training, according to his LinkedIn account. While he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, Stalions wrote, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan from May 2015 to May 2022. "On top of my daily duties as a Logistics Officer leading [40-plus] at a time, I volunteered for the Michigan football staff, flying back [and] forth on my own dime, assisting the defensive staff," Stalions wrote. In a profile of Stalions on the website Soldiers to Sidelines in January 2022, he said he purchased a house and rented each of the bedrooms on Airbnb, while sleeping on the couch, to help pay for his travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stalions retired as a captain in the Marine Corps in May 2022 and joined Michigan's staff as an off-field analyst.

throw in the $$ bring in Washington State's Jake Dickert. Bring the Wisconsin guy back to the midwest and back to the Power 5 to rebuild the program

Darn Coaches...told them wear Ohio State merch!!!!

Sounds a little more "advanced".....not sure if this is common or if Michigan was further out on the edge..... https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2023/10/19/michigan-sign-stealing-investigation-ncaa-penalize-jim-harbaugh-wolverines-program/71241341007/ Rigorously preparing for an upcoming opponent is central to the work done by college football teams and their coaches over the course of the season. To help with that task, programs are provided with video footage to scout teams they’re preparing to play. What separates the Wolverines in this case is that they allegedly went beyond those traditional means of scouting. Anonymous sources cited by Yahoo claimed they used “unnamed individuals” to attend games of scheduled opponents and potential College Football Playoff foes to collect information on the signs used by those teams for their offensive and defensive plays. The Athletic reported Thursday that the Big Ten claims that Michigan used a “vast network” to steal opposing teams' signs. NCAA rules on in-person scouting Unlike sign-stealing, in-person scouting is explicitly forbidden, which is why Michigan could potentially be in trouble with college sports’ governing body. Under the umbrella of “Scouting of Opponents” in the 2023-24 NCAA Division I Manual, bylaw 11.6.1 states that “off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.” There are exceptions to the rule outlined in corresponding bylaws, 11.6.1.1 and 11.6.1.2: 11.6.1.1: “Same Event at the Same Site: an institutional staff member may scout future opponents also participating in the same event at the same site.” 11.6.1.2: “Conference or NCAA Championships: an institutional staff member may attend a contest in the institution's conference championship or an NCAA championship contest in which a future opponent participates (e.g., an opponent on the institution's spring non-championship-segment schedule participates in a fall conference or NCAA championship).”

is Jimmy at it again....Temp to the rescue!!!! 😉 https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38696639/ncaa-investigating-no-2-michigan-amid-sign-stealing-allegations The NCAA is investigating the Michigan Wolverines' football program amid allegations of sign stealing, the Big Ten Conference announced Thursday. The University of Michigan and the Big Ten were both notified by the NCAA of the investigation Wednesday, and the conference said it had notified the Wolverines' future opponents. "The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation," it said in a statement. According to a report by Yahoo Sports, Michigan allegedly had people attending games of future opponents as well as possible College Football Playoff opponents to gather information on signs used to call plays on offense and defense. If true, the No. 2 Wolverines would have violated NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1, which states: "Off-campus, in-person scouring of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited." U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas firm that monitors the betting market, sent out an alert to its sportsbook clients regarding the Michigan controversy Thursday, ESPN confirmed.

Looks like they have a tough road ahead....at least they get to look forward to long flights playing the the ACC. 😉

Probably unfair comment about Stanford. While challenges the last 4-5 seasons, they went 102-32 from 2009-18 under Harbaugh and David Shaw. They made appearances in the Orange, Fiesta, and Rose Bowls (3 times) along with Alamo and Sun Bowls repeatedly. IU and Purdue could only dream of that journey.

Pure Michigan - Michigan State....gets the dig in on UM at the end....

Not sure that is totally reserved for the south.....WalMart Wolverines...Pure Michigan

As a close friend that is a central PA boy and a PSU alum repeatedly tells me...Franklin can recruit a bit, but sure can't coach.....

Top 3 Indiana 6A teams are 64, 70, and 74 Hopefully, 2 of the 3 keep moving up...shame 64 and 74 play the opening game of their sectional.

Sure has a decent sized staff. QC coaches....wonder what is considered as acceptable quality??

Agreed 100%. Heck, Wright hasn't been able to get promoted to the OC role at IU under Allen, let along HC. That's fair...agree with that....but just don't see Wright being considered as HC of a Power 5 program without being a coordinator. But, who knows??

No disagreement with the buyout...I was talking more about spending the $$ to bring an outstanding established head coach from a Power 5 school. Jonathan Smith (Oregon State HC) Jake Dikert (Washington St HC) are not going to be cheap to bring in. Smith maybe a pipe dream given he's an Oregon St alum, but Dikert is a Wisconsin guy and IU no reason couldn't get him back to the midwest. But IU would need to spend some $$ on football.

They won't spend the $$, but they need a name coach to rip the program inside out and rebuild it....also to generate fan interest. Maybe Michigan's DC Jesse Minter or Brian Hartline (OC) from OSU. I also wonder if Washington State or Oregon State's HC's with some cash would be willing to bail and jump to a Power 5 team like Indiana?? It would take some serious cash, but they are running tremendous programs at their schools.

It was the most points CG allowed all season...and just like Cathedral, the Trojans have to look into stopping the long pass. (coverage, QB pressure, schemes, etc.) That being said...special teams is what really enabled the points to go on the board for the Irish including a couple of scores late in Q4. The Irish recovered 2 onside kicks and forced a fumble on the opening kickoff return to start Q3. That have the Irish 3 short fields and 3 extra possessions they should not received. Those special play miscues by the Trojans led to 17 Irish points. Credit the Irish for taking advantage of the opportunities to score the 38 points.

You picked against the Trojans this week. Don’t change now!!!

Both teams need some work in that area...although the pass D's were facing outstanding QB's and receivers. CG needs focus on special teams. A fumbled KO return along with 2 Cathedral recovered onside kicks lead to a bunch of Irish points due to extremely short fields. (17 pts I believe) Heck, Cathedral would have recovered a 3rd onside kick had they not been offsides. Those miscues by CG absolutely made it a much closer game that it should have been. CG had a 3 TD lead with about 6 minutes left to go in the game and almost let the game get away.

Both QB’s put the ball in the air in some tough conditions and showed why they are the elite signal callers in the state.

Legend........

Silly comment.....you may want to go look at Brownstown's record for the past 25+ years before deciding to type. Outstanding program.

if owners truly felt they were losing millions as a result of player injuries due to field turf, it would all be replaced much like the old artificial turf back in the day. also, if coaches didn't feel there was a risk to QB's running more at the pro level, there would be a lot more teams running RPO's similar to the college model. Richardson has been hurt 3 times this season....each time running the football. That is not refutable.