Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh responds to potential practice video breach
PASADENA, Calif. — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his team have been under the microscope for alleged illegal on-site scouting leading to sign stealing, but others seem to be facing even more damning allegations. Catapult, an analytics software company that gives schools a platform to watch post-practice film (their own), is under investigation after allegations surfaced schools other than U-M might have illegally accessed others’ practice film.
Rumors on this have been swirling for months, and Harbaugh acknowledged he’s heard them. As previously reported, Michigan took steps to avoid the possibility by shutting down the players’ access to it on their IPads after learning of a potential breach.
“There have been just rumors out there about the cloud and Catapult system, and I think they’re just taking precautions,” Harbaugh said, referring to it as ‘rumor.’ “People just started talking about that,” Harbaugh said. “We know very little about how that works.”
There have been similar rumblings that the investigation involving other programs, first reported by Dan Wetzel, might involve Ohio State. Harbaugh insisted he didn’t know any details.
“Please know I’m not accusing anybody of anything,” Harbaugh said. “I just don’t really know. I don’t know. I don’t know … don’t know as I sit here.”
Alabama players also acknowledged they’d shut down use of their IPads as a precautionary measure in case someone was trying to hack them. Instead, they were getting together with their position coaches and studying in the building.
“It was just what Michigan’s known for, what they have out in there just with the playcall-stealing. So, we don’t want to play into that,” Alabama running back Jase McClellan said.
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Nobody’s certain what the NCAA will find — only that it’s opened an investigation into “the alleged unauthorized access to NCAA football video footage.”
“We have conducted an internal investigation and have not found any security breach in our systems,” they said in a statement. “We have shared this with local authorities that are conducting an investigation … we will continue to support the ongoing investigation with the NCAA and local authorities.”
Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore expanded on the lengths Michigan went to protect its film.
“We watched it in-house and handled it that way,” he said. “It was something we decided from our own perspective. People heard some things, and we wanted to make sure we were safe on our end.”
“It makes sense with everything going on and the society we live in today,” Michigan junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “Like them, we haven’t been watching film on our iPads all of November because of everything that’s been going on. We’re just making sure we’re getting that time in the facility … that time to watch film and really dissect whoever we’re playing.”
