A suspended Michigan football staffer who is at the center of an NCAA investigation into an alleged sign-stealing scheme appears to have been on the sideline of the the Wolverines’ game against the Ohio State Buckeyes last season in Columbus.
Video recorded by WBNS-10TV shows a person believed to be Connor Stalions, an analyst at Michigan, on the Wolverines sidelines alongside defensive coordinator Jesse Minter during the Buckeyes first drive of the game.
In the video, then Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is seen backing off the formation and looking to the Buckeye sideline. In the background, Stalions appears to look in the direction of the Ohio State sideline, as do other players and coaches.
Stalions and several others on the Michigan sideline then point up several times. The resulting play was a pass that went to Emeka Egbuka for a 4-yard touchdown.
On Monday, ESPN reported that 11 Big 10 schools said they have found evidence that Stalions purchased tickets to at least one of their games over the past three seasons.
Last week, Michigan announced that Stalions had been suspended with pay, pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Michigan announced last week that Stalions had been suspended with pay, pending the conclusion of the investigation. Michigan spokesman Dave Ablauf said Monday the school could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
At least one school has found video surveillance footage from inside its stadium that showed an individual appearing to use a cell phone to record what was happening on the field. ESPN also said he purchased tickets for Ohio State’s home game with Penn State on Saturday, though the tickets were not used; Michigan plays both teams later this season.
Michigan and the Big Ten acknowledged the NCAA was investigating allegations of sign stealing last week. The conference informed all of Michigan’s upcoming opponents of the allegations.
