Connor Stalions, the besmirched offensive analyst and highlight of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, has more to say. After his firing was publicized, Stalions became forever associated with football’s dark side. This one scandal was enough to overshadow the link he had with getting the No. 1 recruit of the 2025 class over to Michigan. Stalions resurfaced after already having a Netflix project to his name, this time baring it all about his relationship with Bryce Underwood. To that, he also had some tea to spill about sign-stealing in general.
Underwood’s move to Michigan after a hard commit to LSU is just as fishy as the sign-stealing scandal. Connor Stalions, before meeting the star QB, was a volunteer defensive coordinator for Detroit Mumford High. He told On3’s J.D. Pickell that Bellville called him over, the then home of Underwood, to “help out.” We also have to bring to your attention that this call for help came after the regular season had ended, and Bellville was going into the playoffs. Upon meeting Underwood, Stalions said that it was a “star-struck” moment for both of them. However, they “didn’t talk about Michigan that much.” But Stalions admitted to one major fact that Locked on BIG 10’s Craig Shemon couldn’t ignore.
He said in a March 31 episode, “Stalions said from that point on, just as the playoffs were starting at Bellview with Underwood, he and Underwood started using Michigan’s pre-nap verbiage for their formations.” Shemon remarked, “That would be a major adjustment for any team, let alone a team of 17- and 18-year-olds at the end of a season heading into the playoffs. You don’t make changes like that on the fly.” Not long after that, he flipped to Michigan. You’ve got to give it to Connor Stalions for his recruiting skills. He flipped the most attractive talent of the 2025 class to Michigan, that too as college football cast out.
Credits: Twitter
“This is after Underwood had said publicly and strongly, ‘No, he’s [Underwood] committed to LSU he thinks that they can develop him better as a quarterback.’ And all of a sudden, boom. He says, ‘Ah, I’m going to go to Michigan.’” Shemon also thinks the $12 million deal was a factor. Shemon noted that Stalions made his intentions clear with Underwood from the get-go. “He would prefer that Underwood played collegiately Michigan, of course. But 99% of the time, they just talked football.” So, even after being at the center of a high-stakes scandal, Stalions is still getting the work done for Michigan. “It seems Stalions is a great recruiter and pitchman for Michigan still.”
The shunned-upon Stalions had loads more to say, bolstering his side of the whole story. Michigan still has its title, which the AD thinks they won “fair and square.” Stalions still has it bad for Michigan, it seems. However, he made a huge claim about sign stealing that should warrant a larger assessment of the practice.
Connor Stalions shares more details about sign-stealing
In the interview with J.D. Pickell, Stalions flat out said, “Let’s not kid ourselves here. Like, I would say, 95% of the teams have 95% of team signals.” He added further, “So, it’s about how you protect, how you decipher, how you employ it…. So it was more of a protecting our own, right? So signaling second helps that.” Going by Stalions’ words, sign-stealing has long been in practice in football. Perhaps the downside of it all was that Stalions was the one who got caught.
Former Michigan alum Mike Sainristil said, “I think the problem was he [Harbaugh] worked a lot harder at doing what everybody else was doing, so when he was having success doing it, they tried finding a way to make it seem like we’re cheating.” Michigan had a 3-game suspension after the scandal came to light. Yet, without Connor Stalions, the Wolverines still managed to win the national championship.
Stalions also directed harsh criticism towards OSU, a group sensitive to any mention of him. “Ohio State was really abusing us in 2018 and 2019. I mean, every time we’re in man, they’re running mesh rail. Every time we’re in zone, they’re running the ball.” Sports Illustrated quoted him saying that the dynamic between the two became like a fiery “chess match, where both sides would be waiting for the other to call a play because they basically knew what would be coming.”
Despite an NCAA investigation and a sort of exile from college football, Stalions appears to be the ultimate victor. Sure, he was served his due justice after being involved in an illegal act. Is he really having a bad time, especially after helping Michigan land the biggest steal of the 2025 class?
The post Connor Stalions’ Role in Bryce Underwood’s Michigan Flip Exposed as Ex-Analyst Forced to Admit Sign-Stealing Antics appeared first on EssentiallySports.
