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Three years after it initially broke ground, the Michigan sign-stealing allegations are still a factor ahead of the 2025 college football season. After TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes made another statement on facing the Michigan team in question, Connor Stalions clapped back on social media.
Stalions, who was then a defensive analyst on Jim Harbaugh's staff, rejected Dykes' claim that he knew of Michigan's sign-stealing activity and changed his play calls. Dykes said the misdirection led to the abundance of big plays TCU pulled off in the game, but Stalions vehemently rejected the notion with a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter.
“To say anyone ‘fooled' me is admitting that you have no idea how sign deciphering and protecting works,” Stalions tweeted. “No team has ever ‘changed' signals — meaning they don't recycle the same signal to have a different meaning because that would confuse the 18-year-olds on the field more than it would confuse me. They simply create new signals.
“There were 7 games in my time at Michigan where I knew almost every signal the whole game: 2021 MSU, 2022 MSU, 2022 PSU, 2022 OSU, 2022 TCU, 2021 Georgia and 2021 Wisconsin. We lost 3 of those games because we didn't tackle well, and Georgia was historically good. We won the other four games because we dominated the line of scrimmage and tackled well. Blocking, ball security, tackling, run fits and coverage tools. That's football. This is not rocket science.”
TCU wound up advancing to the National Championship Game with a 51-45 upset of Michigan in the 2022 College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl. The back-and-forth affair featured countless big plays, creating one of the best games in CFP history.
Sign-stealing scandal still affecting Michigan in 2025
While Connor Stalions is no longer affiliated with Michigan, the sign-stealing allegations remain relevant in 2025. The Wolverines are prepared to lose head coach Sherrone Moore for a couple of games in the upcoming season, with the ongoing NCAA investigation finding him guilty of deleting texts to Stalions in 2022.
Michigan is projected to suspend Moore for two weeks, which would cause him to miss their games against New Mexico and Oklahoma. The game against the Sooners would have been meaningful to Moore, who graduated from the school in 2008.
Although not yet official, it appears Moore's first game will be against Central Michigan on Sept. 13. Michigan will travel to face an improved Nebraska team on Sept. 20 in what will likely be one of the biggest college football games of the week.
