Connor Stalions responds to Cade Stover, says Ohio State's calls weren't tough to decipher

Former Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions joined the "Bussin’ With The Boys" podcast on Tuesday to discuss his role in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

Stalions, speaking to show hosts with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, was also asked about his Michigan Manifesto and how he got into deciphering signals as a student coach for Navy football. He also talked about Ohio State football and fired back at former Buckeyes tight end and current Houston Texan Cade Stover.

"It started at Navy," Stalions said. “I asked, ‘What do I do on game day?’ I forget who it was, but one of the coaches said, 'Well, I don’t know. Let me look into it, but I remember last year we had a guy — he just graduated — who tried deciphering the opponent’s signals in-game.' I knew nothing about it. I never did that in high school. I was like, ‘I don’t know. OK.’ But I went in with a blank sheet of paper, a clipboard and a pen. Our first game was Ohio State. That was the birth."

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Connor Stalions said it took three drives to figure out Ohio State's signals

In his first game day with Navy on Aug. 31, 2014, the Midshipmen played Ohio State. Though the Buckeyes won the game 34-17 , Stalions said it did not take him long to figure out the play calling for Ohio State. He said it took all of three drives to recognize what was going to be called.

"I don’t remember exactly the plays," Stalions said. "I think they ran power a lot. It’s been a lot of games since then. I just remember getting their offensive signals pretty early and not knowing what to do with the information. I would just yell it out. There wasn’t a structure. No one knew who I was. I’m two weeks into being a student coach. They don’t know who I am. The OC knew who I was, but he was up in the booth, and the director of football ops knew who I was, but that was pretty much it — and the players.

“So I’m just yelling, ‘Power left! Power left!’ And it would be power left. You just got to have a knack for it, but it’s not rocket science. It’s just signals."

Connor Stalions responds to Cade Stover's criticism

In September, Stover spoke to reporters about his debut. He was also asked about the Netflix documentary, "Untold: Sign Stealer" about the Michigan sign-stealing scandal. Stover told reporters he did not need to watch the documentary because he lived through it.

Stover expressed dismay that Michigan could predict a play Ohio State would run in a formation it had never used in a game. When asked about Stover's comments, Stalions responded that he did not remember exactly what the formation used. But he picked up on context clues.

"Here’s the thing: Ohio State had like eight signalers all year, something like that," Stalions said. "Everyone signals the formation. Mistake No. 1. Mistake No. 2: They never changed who their live signaler was the entire season."

Compton and Lewan had the producers pull up the exact play and discuss it with Stalions while watching it.

“Slot Y-Y, they motioned into Slot Y-Y,” Stalions said as they rewatched the play. “They signaled their signal for Slot Y-Y formation, and then the guy who was live the entire season signaled Y then delay. Am I supposed to see that and be, ‘Oh, I don’t know what this is.’ I said, ‘This has got to be a Y-delay screen.' ”

Stalions was quickly identified as a central figure when news of Michigan's sign-stealing scandal broke, and subsequently resigned from his position in early November 2023. The Wolverines went on to complete an unbeaten, 15-0 season in 2023, including a 30-24 win vs. Ohio State.

The Buckeyes will rematch against the Wolverines on Nov. 30 at Ohio Stadium.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Connor Stalions responds to Cade Stover, says Ohio State's calls weren't tough to decipher