The ghost of Connor Stalions ain’t done haunting college football. Just when you thought the Michigan sign-stealing drama was finally six feet deep, boom—the ground shakes. A new whisper, a new tape, a new leak. Somebody cue the horror movie soundtrack. ‘Cause right as Jim Harbaugh is sipping Gatorade in Los Angeles, trying to forget the NCAA, here comes a credible Michigan insider stirring that black-and-blue pot. And this time, the tea’s hotter than a July tailgate in Ann Arbor.

Connor Stalions? The former Michigan staffer turned Netflix antihero, turned Belleville High School play-caller, turned internet myth? He’s back in the headlines. And so is Harbaugh. Stalions is out there throwing shade at ACC teams, Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana—basically saying, ‘Y’all ain’t innocent either.’ “Deciphering opponents’ signals is a part of that, but you could argue, more importantly, was protecting our own, and you know there’s a lot that goes into that, and all of it stems back to 2018, where pretty much every team was just ab–ing us, from signal perspective,” he said. So what’s the new heat?

Isaiah Hole, Michigan insider and reporter for USA Today, joined Michigan at The Voice of College Football and let it rip. When the host asked if there was more juice to the issue, Hole dropped a slick little nugget: “I think in some ways your guess is as good as mine. I talked to Connor last week—I mean, usually he’s the one asking me like, ‘What’s the word?’ You know, like he’s not necessarily hearing much. But what he is hearing, it’s kind of like I can’t really share, but it does sound like there’s some mixed signals.”

According to Hole, Stalions ain’t sweating. The whole thing, from his view, is low-key overcooked by rival fans and click-chasers. “It’s going to be more personal punishment is what it really sounds like. You’re going to see more of him getting his punishment, Jim Harbaugh getting his punishment—that type of thing.”

Now don’t get it twisted—this saga ain’t about absolving Harbaugh. While the draft of allegations reportedly doesn’t directly link Harbaugh to Stalions’ operation or prove his knowledge of it, it does state he didn’t actively look for or evaluate “red flags,” and there could be more to come. There’s even a hint from Hole that former Wolverines linebackers coach Chris Partridge might be next. But here’s where things get interesting: Michigan isn’t backing down. They’re challenging this, arguing in their response to the Notice of Allegations (NOA) that the NCAA’s case lacks concrete evidence and relies heavily on potentially biased information.

And let’s talk about the real kicker. According to Isaiah Hole, this case is straight politics now. “They’re out there saying, number one, you have no true evidence of any of this. It’s all kind of the testimony of someone that appears disgruntled. And hey, by the way, who is it? Right? They want the NCAA to disclose it. They know who it is, and I think that’s kind of put a wrench into some of it, right? Because now it’s gotten a little political…. Michigan wants the NCAA to disclose who the testimony is coming from.” The NCAA’s vague, tiptoe approach contrasts wildly with how Michigan got publicly dragged in 2023. Meanwhile, programs like Tennessee and Michigan State are getting investigated in silence.

And just when you think this circus can’t get any wilder, Connor Stalions is still out here low-key defending himself. In Netflix’s 2024 doc Untold: Sign Stealer, he claimed sign-stealing is just part of the game. Not cheating—just… creative game prep. He says he never directed folks to film opponents but admitted to buying over 30 tickets across 11 Big Ten schools.

The wildest thing about this issue ain’t even the cheating—it’s the hypocrisy. Like Isaiah Hole said, other programs were doing it too. Stalions recently snitched on an unnamed ACC squad allegedly using Bluetooth to buzz plays into quarterbacks’ helmets. If true, that’s a way bigger no-no than sideline binoculars and iPhones.

Hole explained, “Talking to Connor directly, I knew exactly what was actually happening throughout the whole process last year, or two years ago. But people wanted—it got so sensationalized that people started treating this as the biggest sca-dal in the history of college sports, and it just really isn’t.” The man’ basically said, ‘This is not the biggest sca-dal, it’s just most televised’ And he’s kind of right. Michigan’s case blew up because it had drama, characters, theories—it was House of Cards: NCAA Edition. But when you line it up next to real infractions, like cash handouts or full-on academic fraud, it’s tame.

That said, the Stalions operation was no backyard hustle. Stalions had a mini-spy ring, buying tix under his name, sending folks to games, allegedly filming signals. Reports say he bought tickets for at least 30 games across 11 Big Ten teams. That’s commitment. Too bad it was to the dark arts. Still, Hole says the worst of it may already be over. The NCAA’s been slow-walking this since fall 2023, and it looks like most of the fireworks already popped. Harbaugh’s out the door, Partridge is sweating, and Stalions? He’s at Belleville as OC—played his part in flipping Bryce Underwood to Michigan.

Sign of the Times—How Connor Stalions exposed a bigger issue

You know it’s wild when a college football staffer turns into a Netflix main character. Untold: Sign Stealer painted Stalions as a misunderstood genius, not a villain. In the doc, he says he just used loopholes. Swears he never broke rules, just bent them like Beckham. He even hints other Big Ten schools were doing worse.

This ain’t just a Michigan story anymore. It’s a college football culture check. How many programs are really clean? And why did the NCAA pick Michigan to be the fall guy? Maybe it’s because Harbaugh’s always rubbed the suits the wrong way. Maybe it’s because Stalions got too bold. Or maybe Michigan just got caught first.

When you zoom out from the maize-and-blue mess, Stalions’ saga kinda rips the curtain off a dirty little NCAA secret: everybody’s doing something shady. The man might’ve been reckless, but he wasn’t wrong about the culture. Sign-stealing has always been the sport’s worst-kept secret. Most teams rely on hand signals, sideline boards with memes, or even fake signs to bait opponents.

The NCAA, for its part, is in denial. There’s been zero progress on letting teams communicate directly through helmet headsets like the NFL. So instead of fixing the system, they’re whack-a-moving guys like Stalions who exploited the outdated rules. That Bluetooth accusation against an unnamed ACC school? That’s the future. And the NCAA better catch up or keep handing out Ls to whoever gets caught first.

Either way, the drama’s far from over. Isaiah Hole said, “The only thing I could say is—it’s not going to be as bad as rival fans want it to be. It probably will be a little more than what Michigan fans want it to be as well. But it’s not going to be anything earth-shattering. I think you’ll start to get an idea mid-to-late summer as to what it is, and then we’ll see if both sides—Michigan and the NCAA—can come to that point where neither of them really want to fight each other.” That means more twists, more tea, maybe more docu-series.

Bottom line: Stalions ain’t done talking. Harbaugh is doing pushups in LA. And the Wolverines? They’re still chasing respect—and dodging ghosts with Bluetooth headsets.