According to Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated, Connor Stalions of the Michigan football program claimed that he “stole opponent signals” from televisions, had close relations with the team’s “whole staff,” and had a vision for the Wolverines’ future. Stalions is at the center of an investigation into the Michigan football program, which has head coach Jim Harbaugh under fire. Stalions claimed he was close with current linebackers coach Chris Partridge and running backs coach and assistant special teams coach Jay Harbaugh, the son of Jim Harbaugh.
Stalions said that he stole signals via TV copy before COVID and stood near former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis during games to tell him what was coming. Deciphering signs from TV copy is not against the rules. Stalions is now suspended from the Michigan football program. There have been accusations of him orchestrating a scheme to place unnamed associates of his in stadiums of Michigan’s opponents to scout and in some cases film opposing coaches’ signals. That is against the rules.
Stalions had visions of running the Michigan football program in the future and claimed to have a Google document between 550 and 600 pages long that he managed daily, which included a blueprint for the program’s future. He referred to the document more as a movement than a plan and called it “the Michigan Manifesto”.
This is an interesting story, and it will be worth monitoring as more details surface.