Netflix's 'Untold: Sign Stealer': Conor Stalions' saga leaks NCAA interview, reveals how staffer obtained signals

How will former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions be portrayed in "Untold: Sign Stealer?"

Director Micah Brown – who played receiver at Kansas from 2005-08 – believes the answer is fair. Stalions – who resigned on Nov. 3 amid an in-person scouting scandal during Michigan's national championship season – tells his side of the story amid a continuing NCAA investigation. Yet Brown uses enough sourcing in the documentary to tell both sides of this story, which delves into the gray areas created with the art of stealing signals in football.

Michigan was served a notice of allegations by the NCAA on Sunday – so this scandal is still fresh in the news cycle.

"It's a polarizing topic because a lot of people were unfamiliar with it when it came out," Brown told Sporting News. "I played college football, so I was very familiar with the idea that people would trade information. As a player, I was aware of, 'Hey, you have these sheets you are given and protect those at all costs. Don't lose it.' There is a reason there is signaling, so it made sense that people were trying to get it."

Yet with Stalions, it is not a question of whether he got it. It's how he got it that continues to be the controversy, and the documentary will provide some – but not all the answers – to those questions.

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'Sign Stealer' reveals how Connor Stalions obtained signals

The documentary is a biopic of Stalions, who grew up as a Michigan fan and explores the origins of his methodology for stealing signs during football games – which ironically started when he was a staffer with Navy when the Midshipmen played Ohio State on Aug. 30, 2014.

Nearly a decade later, Stalions would be at the center of a scandal during Michigan's national championship season for several allegations. Stalions purchased tickets for games at other Big Ten stadiums and admits to obtaining videos from those games. He does not admit to using it, however. Stalions also does not admit to being in person at the Central Michigan game against Michigan State on Sept. 21, 2023. Stalions offers his defense, too.

"First of all, I've never advance scouted," Stalions said in the documentary. "Second, if this is about signals, I obtained signals the same way every other team does through watching TV copies and talking to other intel guys on other teams. What set me apart was the way I organized that information and processed it on game day."

"Untold: Sign Stealer” operates in those gray areas and details an underground network for analysts that steal signals in college football. Stalions become engrossed in that network, and pushed past boundaries with an intricate sign-stealing system, which is detailed.

"I think what Connor has is a unique football mind," Brown said. "I don't think it's just a football mind. I think it's a mind in general. There are a ton of people around the country that do similar things to what Connor did, but what makes Connor unique is that he is able to retain that and did have the organizational system that was unique that I don't know that other people would go to the lengths that he did. I don't think that they could retain the information that he did to make it as useful as he was able to make it."

'Untold: Sign Stealer' leaks Connor Stalions' interview with NCAA

The most talked about piece of the documentary will be Stalions' interview with the NCAA on April 24. A portion of the interview is shown on the documentary, and it leaves viewers to interpret Stalions' answers to being questioned about purchasing tickets, the Central Michigan game and an allegation from Stalions' attorneys.

They believe Stalions was the victim of a data breach, and there is an accusation that a party tied to Ohio State was responsible for that breach. The NCAA announced a four-year show-cause penalty for former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Aug. 4 for a separate NCAA investigation, and an official notice of allegations was sent to Michigan last week for the in-person sign stealing scandal.

"Nobody has ever seen how a NCAA interview is conducted," Brown said. "Nobody sees what that is like and you can imagine. Connor had those two lawyers with him. You can imagine being a 19-year-old kid and being questioned in that setting and feeling like it is the government or a crime. You can see how intimidating that would be if it was you by yourself."

MORE: What 'Untold: Sign Stealer' doesn't tell you about Michigan scandal

Who is Brohio?

Brown said his favorite part of the documentary was the scenes involving a disguised internet message board poster named "Brohio" who becomes integral with digging up details about Stalions and the NCAA investigation. The documentary does get perspective from national writers such as Dan Wetzel, Will Hobson and Nicole Auerbach, and Michigan beat writer Isaiah Hole is featured prominently.

Yet "Brohio" – who protects his identity – does an excellent job of creating thought-provoking questions and debunking conspiracy theories about the investigation.

"The internet sleuth angle was one of my favorite parts because when constructing this story I wanted to have a bunch of different POVs," Brown said. "I've never seen something so complex and honestly such great journalism from people who aren't doing that the whole time. To me, it spoke to the power of college football and how intense this rivalry was. That was the craziest thing."

How does Connor Stalions impact Ohio State-Michigan rivalry?

This documentary is going to inflame both sides of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. The Wolverines have won the last three meetings in the series – and Stalions was on the sideline for the 2021 and 2022 victories against the Buckeyes. Ohio State, however, has dominated the series in the 21st century with a 17-5-1 record on the field since 2001 – though the 2010 victory was vacated because of TattooGate, which led to the resignation of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

"I think it is great for the rivalry," Brown said. "The game is such a basic part of what makes rivalries great. What makes rivalries great is the story behind them. They poisoned the tree. There is a Civil War tie to something. All of that stuff with your neighbors and friends and the pageantry behind it is what makes college football very special. That is the story within the story."

Will Michigan face similar punishment from the NCAA? That remains to be seen, and the Stalions' scandal has added an extra layer to the rivalry, which is brought out more on the Michigan side in the documentary. That is evident in the commentary with Barstool Sports owner and Michigan fan Dave Portnoy in "Sign Stealer.”

Will Michigan face more punishment because of 'Sign Stealer?'

The documentary continues to step around the gray area with the NCAA allegations. It does not directly say that Harbaugh knew of the depth of Stalions' sign-stealing operation, but it does raise more questions about how that operation was funded by a low-level staffer.

Brown does an excellent job of telling both sides of the story, even if he admits afterward to forming a friendship with Stalions through the film process. Stalions will be the defensive coordinator for Mumford High School in Detroit this season.

How will Stalions be viewed by those outside the Michigan-Ohio State bubble after watching the documentary?

"I think the film does a good job of leaving that question open," Brown said. "One thing we didn't want to do was make you have a definitive view even though this is his Untold. He is the primary subject of it. We wanted to tell you a balanced story. At the end of this, you should leave conflicted about how you feel about him and based upon your allegiance it may tilt you a certain way, but I think our job is to present this complicated character in a way everybody can have an opinion on."