TCU coach Sonny Dykes said this week at Big 12 Media Days that the Horned Frogs changed their play calls ahead of the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals against Michigan after they were “tipped off” about the Wolverines’ sign-stealing plans. First reported by Yahoo Sports in 2023, Dykes acknowledged his staff used “dummy signals” and altered a few decisions during TCU’s 51-45 victory to try to thwart Michigan’s perceived advantage.
Former Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions, the focal point behind Michigan’s sign-stealing saga, fired back Friday at Dykes’ claim on social media. Stalions resigned from his position as a team analyst in Ann Arbor during the 2023 season amid the NCAA’s investigation.
“The continuous attempt to correlate signals to any wins and losses at Michigan is funny,” Stalions wrote in a long-winded response on social media. “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 four other games because we dominated the line of scrimmage & tackled well.”
He continued: “Blocking, ball security, tackling, run fits & coverage tools. That’s football. This is not rocket science.”
Stalions detailed how Air Raid offenses, like Dykes’ philosophy at TCU, all share the same principles and similar signals from the play-caller relaying information to the quarterback, and then from QB to his receivers.
“Similar to Ohio State ‘changing their signals,’” Stalions tweeted. “They changed their route concepts & some run concepts — not their formations and pass protection signals, which is all I cared about.”
There wasn’t much Stalions could do in 2022 against the Horned Frogs after TCU scored a pair of defensive touchdowns and benefited from a bevy of execution issues from the Wolverines, including a normally sound defense not playing up to their standards.
And as the former Michigan staffer noted from the team’s 2021 loss to Georgia in the CFP, the Wolverines simply didn’t make enough plays against the eventual national champions in the trenches. The strength of Kirby Smart’s team that season was punching the opposition in the mouth, and that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did during a 34-11 victory in Miami.
Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has denied knowing or participating in the alleged sign-stealing scheme. He previously received a four-year show-cause penalty in August 2024 for his role in the Wolverines’ recruiting violations case unrelated to the Stalions situation.
A ruling on Michigan’s sign-stealing saga is expected later this summer, including potential punishment for coach Sherrone Moore. Proactive in its attempt to get ahead of possible NCAA rulings, the Wolverines suspended Moore for two games during the 2025 season earlier this year following the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations. Moore’s suspension is reportedly tied back to him allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions.
Following the NCAA’s notice, Michigan accused the governing body of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the university despite a lack of evidence.
During his time with the Wolverines, Stalions allegedly bought tickets to more than two dozen games at various Big Ten stadiums and four tickets to matchups involving potential CFP teams with supposed intent to record video of sideline signaling and play-call signs.
Stalions has not commented on intricacies of the alleged sign-stealing saga, in part because he’s not allowed to discuss details due to the ongoing investigation. He did say Friday that he’s “looking forward to address” any lingering questions once the investigation has wrapped.
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