Harbaugh brushes aside sign-stealing questions

Speaking publicly for the first time since an NCAA investigation into potential sign-stealing and illegal scouting at Michigan was made public, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh largely brushed aside questions about the situation in the wake of a 49-0 win at Michigan State that moved his team to 8-0.

“There’s been stuff,” Harbaugh said. “There’s been attempts to diminish the team in a lot of ways, starting with the easy schedule. They just play.”

Asked about his response to the allegations, Harbaugh replied, “It’s the first rule of being a champion. Don’t let up.”

Signal-stealing is a legal and common practice within football. But scouting opponents in person and collecting strategic information through those means are against NCAA rules. Harbaugh on Thursday said in a statement that he had no knowledge or information of illegally stealing signals and that he hadn’t directed any staff members to do so. On Friday, Michigan suspended analyst Connor Stalions with pay, pending the investigation, following a report from ESPN that he was a person of interest.

Asked Saturday about how he addressed the investigation with his team, Harbaugh said, “Same thing I said in my statement.”

Michigan State was informed of the investigation Wednesday night. The possibility of the Spartans not playing Saturday’s game was broached but shot down, interim coach Harlon Barnett said.

“I was asked what could we possibly do to them, ‘What do you think?’ I said what I said, but I wasn’t really expecting much to come from it, to be honest with you,” Barnett said after the loss. “At one time, somebody did mention the possibility of not playing the game. I’m like, let’s play the game. It don’t get you ‘til it get you. Just remember that.”

For much of the first half, Michigan State did not signal in plays from the sideline. Instead, redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser came near the sideline and was told the play by a backup quarterback before running back to the huddle to deliver the play call.

Running back Nathan Carter said the Spartans had already planned to do some of that, in order to run clock and shorten the game. The Spartans abandoned the strategy in the second quarter as the score became lopsided. Barnett said it was also a method of sign-stealing defense.

“It’s something our guys have done before with teams that do (steal signals) within the game,” Barnett said. “There are some teams in our league that are pretty good at doing it, getting signals within the game, which is all part of it, which is legal, and we know that. Running to the sideline, getting to the call, running back to the huddle and telling the guys, as opposed to everybody getting the signal from the sideline. That’s not an excuse. We have to play better. That’s the goal. To start playing better and not beat ourselves.”

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns, downplayed the impact of the investigation on the Wolverines.

“All the outside distraction, the allegations against coach Harbaugh, that doesn’t do anything to us,” he said. “We’re just out there trying to play ball and have fun with our boys.”

Required reading

(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)