College Football Coach Reveals Example Of Ongoing Sign Stealing

Second-year Arkansas Razorbacks defensive coordinator Travis Williams shed some light on ongoing sign stealing that is both rampant and "perfectly legal" in college football.

Before taking over for Barry Odom in 2022, the former Auburn linebacker served as UCF's defensive coordinator after working as a defensive assistant and eventually co-defensive coordinator for his alma mater.

Williams, 41, has grown accustomed to the challenges of protecting and routinely changing his defensive signals over his 15 years in the sport. He went into detail with media members about the true nature of the practice. It's something much different than Michigan's on-site sign stealing scandal last season.

"During the (game) week – I know offenses all around the country – they gonna get the TV copy and they are looking at the signals," Williams said . "Just one person. That’s your only job – just look at the signals."

Williams explained that if the opposing staff can't see the sidelines within the TV copy, they focus on how the players are signaling on the field and create sheets for in-game use.

He recalled a game against Louisville in which the opposing offensive coordinator impressed him. Williams reached out to the coach the following season to learn what signals he had been able to decipher.

“We play them that next year," he said. "I was at UCF… And I got his contact and I called him. He sent me the whole thing and was like, ‘This is what we had.’ And it was 80% correct. So we had to change our signals cause they just pass it around… It’s perfectly legal.”

Williams made sure to note that this tactic is widely used and isn't considered "unethical." Coaches have to constantly change signals to keep a level playing field.

“(This is) all over college football," Williams added. "It’s nothing new. It’s not one of those deals where it’s like unethical or something like that… If you’re crazy enough to keep the same signals then that’s on you.”

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