Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has been suspended for a year and given a four-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA for recruiting violations.

The penalties announced Wednesday by the NCAA are not related to the Connor Stalions advance scouting scandal that got Harbaugh suspended by the Big Ten for the end of the 2023 regular season when he was still at Michigan.

Rather, the penalties relate to the three-game suspension Harbaugh served at the start of the season for an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead recruiting period.

The Division I infractions committee determined that Harbaugh “violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.” The panel also raised the violation to a “Level I-Aggravated,” citing Harbaugh’s “intentional disregard for NCAA legislation and unethical conduct.”

Michigan won the national championship at the end of the 2023 season after a 15-0 campaign. Harbaugh missed six of the team’s games but returned for the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.

The three-game suspension Harbaugh served at the start of the year was self-imposed by Michigan after negotiations with the NCAA for a four-game suspension fell apart. The NCAA has long accused Harbaugh of being uncooperative in its recruiting investigation and again said that he had denied meeting with two recruits despite proof that he did.

From the NCAA’s decision:

The NCAA made clear in its statement that Harbaugh would be banned from all athletic activities at a college for the next four seasons and would serve a complete one-year suspension in the first season. However, it seems unlikely that Harbaugh will coach at the college level in the near future now that he’s returned to the NFL.

And his lack of cooperation with the NCAA reached a new level after the decision was announced, via a statement from his attorney Tom Mars.

In its decision, the NCAA outlined that it sent Michigan a notice of allegations regarding the recruiting violations in December of 2023 before Michigan played in the College Football Playoff. Harbaugh left for the Chargers in January, not long after Michigan beat Washington for the national title. Per the NCAA, Harbaugh responded in writing to the notice of allegations in March and said that he had “no intention of appearing at a COI hearing” regarding the accusations.

The infamous cheeseburger

As the investigation into the recruiting violations unfolded, a cheeseburger became the focus and a rallying cry for some Michigan fans. As the negotiations for the four-game suspension broke down in August of 2023, the NCAA said in a statement that the Michigan’s infractions case was “not a cheeseburger” in a direct call to the online burger references.

And its penalty report makes sure to detail the bacon cheeseburger at the center of one of the meetings it says Harbaugh lied about.

Wednesday’s announcement may not be the only NCAA decision that impacts Michigan football in the coming weeks and months. A report emerged from ESPN over the weekend about a draft notice of allegations relating to Stalions’ scouting scheme. The draft reportedly mentions new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore and Moore could be directly punished as part of the investigation.

Michigan State football will look quite different in 2024 under new head coach Jonathan Smith, including under center.

MSU cleared house after 2023, bringing in Smith and a brand new coaching staff, and reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, with nearly two dozen departures and 10 additions.

One of those transfer portal additions is quarterback Aidan Chiles, who followed Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren from Oregon State, and projects as the Spartans’ assumed starting quarterback for the 2024-25 season and the foreseeable future. Chiles, still 18 and a sophomore, appeared in limited action over nine games as a true freshman, meaning he could potentially be MSU’s quarterback for the next three seasons.

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Chiles has not been officially named the starting quarterback by the coaching staff. He is one of five quarterbacks on the roster, along with sixth-year senior Tommy Schuster, a Michigan native who transferred from North Dakota, true freshmen Alessio Milivojevic and Ryland Jessee, and walk-on redshirt freshman Atticus Carridine.

All of MSU’s quarterbacks who played in 2023 — Noah Kim, Sam Leavitt and Katin Houser — transferred in the offseason.

Chiles is the only quarterback on the roster with FBS playing experience, albeit just 91 snaps as a true freshman with Oregon State. He was the backup to DJ Uiagalelei, who had transferred to Oregon State from Clemson, which limited Chiles’ action, but Smith still made sure to get him experience.

Schuster started four seasons at the FCS level for UND, throwing for 9,073 passing yards, 63 touchdowns and 843 completions in 42 games over four seasons.

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Is Aidan Chiles good? What the numbers say

Chiles is one of the most heralded, if not the most, transfers joining Michigan State in the portal era, even over the likes of Kenneth Walker III or Jayden Reed. While similar production to the latter two in green and white is far from guaranteed, Chiles has an encouraging background that says he could thrive.

Chiles, a 6-foot-3, 217-pound California native, was rated the No. 8 overall transfer, and second-best quarterback transfer going into this fall, according to 247 Sports’ rankings. He was a four-star recruit out of Downey High School in the metro Los Angeles area, and the No. 152 overall recruit and No. 12 quarterback in the 2023 class per the 247Sports composite rankings. He signed with Smith and the Beavers originally at the end of 2022, and enrolled early at 17 years old.

In his reserve action last year, Chiles completed 24 of 35 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, while adding 79 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, showing his ability as a dual-threat option.

Teammate testimonial on Aidan Chiles

If you are curious what Chiles’ impact on MSU could look like, take it from a program veteran who has faced off against him in practice throughout the summer, or one of his projected top receivers.

“Aidan has such a vital role on the offense. They work around him,” sixth-year senior defensive tackle Maverick Hansen told reporters last week. “He’s the one, he’s the one that everyone’s looking at to be the guy and everything, just like any other quarterback. Now (Walker) is a running back. But we knew in spring ball before we even hit the season that K9 was a guy, because he would just cut up and he’d be gone before anyone else could touch him. And we’re like, ‘Holy smokes, this dude is the real deal.’ And the coaches would say, ‘Oh, K9 ain’t gonna be here long. As soon as this season’s over, he’s in the league.’ It’s different for a quarterback, absolutely. He’s got a lot — he can throw the ball, he can run the ball, he’s got a lot of different options, as far as a running back can really just run and block. So I feel like there’s a lot of potential there for Aidan.”

“Dynamic. I can say that in one word,” senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. told reporters. “But if you want me to go more in detail: He’s just a dude, man. He makes plays, he stretches plays. That West Coast offense, being able to get them out the pocket and stretch plays down the field, it helps my game to make more plays down the field.”

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