Harlon Barnett addresses Michigan sign-stealing investigation, how it impacted game

Just hours away from completing game-week preparations for rival Michigan, Michigan State interim coach Harlon Barnett received a phone call about sign-stealing that threw him for a serious loop.

“Credible evidence” had surfaced that Michigan was illegally stealing signs from opponents, jeopardizing the entire Michigan State gameplan.

“I got a call Wednesday night from our athletic director Alan Haller, and he had got a call from the Big Ten and the Big Ten had got a call from the NCAA from how I understand what happened,” Barnett said. “That’s when I found out.”

Barnett was brought into the discussion to see what kind of impact the sign-stealing might have and whether he felt his team could go forward with the game.

He didn’t see much issue with it, despite the obvious inconvenience and disadvantage.

“I was asked what could we possibly do to them, this that and the other, what you think,” Barnett said. “I said what I said, but I wasn’t really expecting much to come from it to be honest with you. At one time somebody did mention possibly not playing the game, but I’m like let’s play the game. Play the game. It don’t get you till it get you, just remember that.”

So Michigan State ended up playing the game and just shaking up how it signaled things into the game. The team pretty much just went analog with it, quarterback running to the sideline to get the calls.

“He was as you saw early in the game he was going to the sideline,” Barnett said. “Because it’s something that our guys have done before with teams that do it within the game. There’s 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. So running to the sideline, getting the call, then getting back into the huddle, telling the guys, as opposed to everybody getting the signal from the sideline.

“But that’s not an excuse. I don’t like excuses. We have to play better. We have to play better and that’s the goal. That’s the goal, to start playing better and not beat ourselves.”