Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy estimates '80 percent of teams in college football steal signs'
Michigan Wolverines football junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy said something during his pre-national championship game teleconference that the college football world already knew: Most teams steal signs.
The 6-3, 202-pounder saw his head coach, Jim Harbaugh, suspended by rookie Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti for the final three games of the regular season due to the sign-stealing controversy that the Wolverines have been embroiled in since late October. Despite there being no proof that staff members other than former junior analyst Connor Stalions were aware of potential illegal off-campus scouting, the Wolverines have been labeled “cheaters” by hostile media members and rival fans.
“I feel like it’s so unfortunate because there’s probably — I don’t want to say a crazy number, but I’d say a good number, 80 percent of the teams in college football steal signs,” McCarthy said, responding to a question about how graduate left guard Trevor Keegan previously expressed frustration about outsiders assuming that players were involved in sign stealing. “It’s just a thing about football. It’s been around for years.
“We actually had to adapt because 2019, when Ohio State was stealing our signs, which is legal and they were doing it, we had to get up to the level that they were at, and we had to make it an even playing field.”
Michigan did so, by concealing its own signs and, like most others, studying others’. If the Wolverines or any other team did break NCAA bylaw 11.6.1, which states that off-campus scouting is illegal, the NCAA says that it provides a “minimal competitive advantage” anyway.
McCarthy’s estimate is correct, according to a 2018 article from The Athletic‘s Bruce Feldman, and was modest, if anything. The reporter spoke to more than 20 coaches who provided that 80 to 90 percent of teams that steal signs, which is within the rules.
McCarthy and Michigan players have been frustrated about their accomplishments being questioned this season. He pointed to the Wolverines being a well-coached, high I.Q. team that has found success due to its hard work in methods that are well within the rules.
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“I just feel like it sucks, just because we do work our butts off,” the Michigan quarterback continued. “We do watch so much film and look for those little tendencies and spend like 10, 15 minutes on one clip alone just looking at all the little details of the posture, of the linebackers or the D-ends, the safeties off levels, the corner to the field is press but the corner to the boundary is off, little stuff like that.
“It’s like, you could say it’s all sign stealing, but there’s a lot more that goes into play, and a lot of stuff that gets masked, a lot of work that gets masked just because of the outside perception of what sign stealing is all about.”
On the same teleconference, Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham shared a similar sentiment.
“I feel like we just kind of watch film and we get tendencies from other teams, and we kind of just pick up on it,” Graham said. “I feel like we just have a high football I.Q. here at Michigan. We go over specific situations multiple times a week, just kind of learning more about the game every day, every meeting, just kind of just building that IQ and being starter football players all around so we pick up on things faster, even if it’s in-game adjustments.
“I think little stuff like that, film study really helped us this year.”
Michigan is 14-0 and set to play Washington in the national championship game Monday night. The Wolverines won before teams were aware U-M may have its signs and after, including against three top-10 teams.
