Top 3 Michigan Football Revelations from Netflix’s Connor Stalions Doc

The Connor Stalions Netflix documentary premiered on Tuesday, revealing significant insights. Connor Stalions, formerly part of the Michigan football staff, orchestrated a sign-stealing scheme that initiated an NCAA investigation. Accused of illegal in-person scouting, Stalions resigned from his position with the Wolverines soon after. This controversy caught the attention of the college football community, leading Netflix to feature it in their Untold series.

Stalions had been volunteering with the Michigan football program before officially joining the staff in 2022. Given Michigan’s remarkable turnaround following a poor 2020 season, some rival fans speculate that Stalions’ actions contributed to the team’s resurgence.

For clarity, sign-stealing itself is legal in college football, as most programs engage in it. It’s permissible to use game footage to interpret signals, but in-person scouting is prohibited.

The core of the Stalions case involves allegations that he bought tickets for games featuring upcoming Michigan opponents and sent others to record the sidelines. This footage was allegedly used to decipher signals. To summarize: using available game film to decode signs is legal; using an acquaintance’s iPhone video recorded from the bleachers is not.

The newly released documentary on Stalions doesn’t seem to alter opinions on the matter, but there are three major takeaways to consider:

First, Stalions asserts his innocence, claiming he followed all rules while affiliated with Michigan football. He insists he derived signals from legal tape, with friends occasionally sending him additional sideline footage he didn’t request. The truth of these statements is uncertain, but it’s intriguing to see Stalions maintain that he didn’t break any regulations.

Another significant plot point revolves around claims that Stalions was on the sideline of a Central Michigan game, disguised as a staff member, during their match against Michigan State. This game took place the day before Michigan’s 2023 season opener, and initially, no one noticed anything unusual. However, when the sign-stealing investigation began, footage emerged showing a figure on the Central Michigan sideline who bore a striking resemblance to Stalions. The documentary touches on this, with Stalions saying he couldn’t recall being at the game and denying that the person shown looks like him.

Finally, Stalions mentioned that upon joining the Michigan football staff, he found the Wolverines lagging in intelligence operations. He uncovered an “underground community of analysts” that shared information to understand opponents’ signals. This revelation was startling, made more so by Stalions’ claim that 80-90% of teams employ someone for this purpose.

The investigation’s outcome remains uncertain, and potential penalties for Michigan are still unknown. Some rival fans believe the team may be forced to forfeit all wins from 2021-2023. Others argue that Stalions’ actions didn’t influence game outcomes significantly. They suggest teams should change signals if they don’t want them stolen.

Ultimately, Michigan football achieved an 8-0 record and defeated four top-10 teams, securing a championship after the investigation surfaced. This suggests that the Wolverines might have won the national title last year, regardless of Stalions’ involvement.