Michiganâs Connor Stalions texted he âstoleâ signals from TV, wrote âMichigan Manifestoâ
Sports Illustrated has obtained a series of text messages from Michigan’s Connor Stalions from January and February 2021 with a then student at a Power 5 school in which the Michigan staffer described stealing opponents’ signals off of TV footage and creating a “Michigan Manifesto.”
Stallions has been the central figure in a Michigan sign-stealing controversy. Reports said Stalions bought tickets at 11 different Big Ten schools over the past three years. In addition, it has been reported he bought tickets to the 2021 SEC Championship Game featuring Alabama and Georgia.
Evidence has reportedly been sent to the NCAA to show Michigan’s sign-stealing included electronic means.
It should be noted, however, Stalions admitting he stole signals off of TV footage is not a violation of NCAA rules. However, accusations he orchestrated the filming of coaches at stadiums, if proven, are violations.
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On Wednesday, SI’s report added context to Stalion’s state of mind. He also shared in texts how close he had gotten to current linebackers coach Chris Partridge and running backs and assistant special teams coach Jay Harbaugh, who is the son of head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Pre-covid, stole opponent signals during the week watching TV copies, then flew to the game and stood next to (then Michigan offensive coordinator Josh) Gattis and told him what coverage/pressure he was gettin,” Stalions texted, per the SI report.
Gattis served as the Alabama co-offensive coordinator in 2018.
Stalions, a self-proclaimed Michigan fan, joined the Wolverines’ staff in the spring of 2022. According to ESPN, Stalions served as a Marine from 2017 to 2022 and. In that time, per the report, he started helping Michigan football as a volunteer assistant in 2015.
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In the text exchange, Stalions admitted to working with others for a long-term plan to run the Michigan football program. According to Sports Illustrated, Stalions had a Google document roughly 600 pages long that contained “a blueprint for the Wolverines’ future,” referring to it as “the Michigan Manifesto.”
“I think it’s pretty rare to find the right type of people who can grasp a vision of the future and want to team up and run s—,” Stalions wrote, per SI. “And we all got our own stuff goin on, but we all got some pretty unique approaches. Basically the way I see it, there’s a future Ohio State head coach and staff out there somewhere preparing for it whether they know it or not. And we have a group of a half dozen actively planning s— 15 or so years out. And another dozen or two on board. So by the time it’s ready to rock, we’re all on the same page and we quickly make Michigan the ultimate standard.”
He tested his theory at the Naval Academy, he said. He admitted in the text he stole test scores while there simply by name dropping.
One of his theories was that there was a direct relationship between test scores and GPAs, which revealed work ethic. If a player with lower SAT or ACT scores had a high GPA, that would mean the player is a strong performers on the field due to work ethic and outworking natural ability.
Check out the full report at Sports Illustrated.