Ryan Day, Jim Knowles decline to comment on alleged sign-stealing operation at Michigan

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with the local media Tuesday ahead of the Buckeyes’ Week 9 road trip to Wisconsin. They were unsurprisingly asked questions about the alleged sign-stealing operation at Michigan.

Both declined to comment on the situation.

Day was first asked about sign stealing in general and how aware coaches have to be of it in game.

“Anything regarding that right now, I’m just not going to comment on today,” Day said. “I’d rather just focus on Wisconsin, but I obviously appreciate that you got to ask your question. That’s just something I don’t want to get into right now.”

When asked for his thoughts, Knowles said he had been “instructed by the higher ups” not to speak on the topic.

“That’s the great thing about being a middle manager,” Knowles joked.

NFL coaches have been talking to their quarterbacks and calling plays through a headset and into helmet speakers since 1994. The college game never made that change, however.

Day was asked if he believes college football should adopt the NFL’s helmet technology.

“It’s not something that we’re going to discuss right now,” Day said. “Because it doesn’t really matter right now. What matters is playing this game. But I do think we should definitely consider that because it would certainly help.”

Day coached in the NFL during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, first as the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and then as the quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers, both under Chip Kelly.

Except Day, who reiterated the importance of “competitive stamina” Tuesday, was more interested in talking about the Buckeyes’ road test at Big Ten West-leading Wisconsin this week than the reports surrounding Michigan.

After all, as Day pointed out, there’s still work to do for No. 3 Ohio State. Despite two top-10 wins, the latest a triumph over then-No. 7 Penn State, the Buckeyes are only seven games through the season and can’t afford a loss before they face Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25.

Since Day became full-time head coach in 2019, Ohio State hasn’t had one of those uncharacteristic defeats to an inferior Big Ten team. But he was on staff for losses to Iowa (2017) and Purdue (2018).

“When you’re at Ohio State, there’s always going to be noise, whether it’s things that you aren’t doing well or things you are doing well,” Day said. “Coming off of a game like we just had was exciting. Our defense played excellent. There was flashes on offense. You win the game. It’s your second top-10 victory in first seven weeks. You have to ignore that noise, too.

“I still come to work every day thinking we’re not very good. And I feel like we should have won by 30 points. You have to have that mentality. Because whether good, bad or indifferent, you have to ignore what’s going on outside. Because what matters is what’s going on in this building right here and getting better and winning on Saturday.”

Day added: “So that’s part of being at Ohio State. And we love that part of it because everything we do is relevant, but we have to make sure we’re staying focused and avoiding all distractions.”

Michigan staffer reportedly bought but didn’t use Ohio State-Penn State tickets

Connor Stalions, the Michigan staffer tied to the alleged sign-stealing undertaking, bought tickets in his own name for at least 30 games across 11 different Big Ten schools over the last three years, including last week’s Ohio State-Penn State matchup, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach.

Thamel and Schlabach reported that none of the tickets the 11 schools told ESPN about were for Michigan games. Instead, they were for games involving future Michigan opponents, sources told ESPN.

Stalions had purchased tickets on both sides of Ohio Stadium for this past weekend’s top-10 clash between Ohio State and Penn State — schools Michigan plays on Nov. 25 and Nov. 11, respectively — but didn’t end up using them for Saturday’s matinee, per Thamel and Schlabach’s report.

Stalions was suspended with pay by Michigan on Friday after the Wolverines analyst was considered a person of interest in a NCAA investigation into potential scouting violations by No. 2 Michigan, as reported by ESPN last week. While in-game sign “stealing,” or decoding, is legal and considered gamesmanship, teams cannot, under NCAA rules, scout future opponents in person at games. That rule has existed since 1994.

Thamel and Schlabach cited their sources in reporting that Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing operation “includes both video evidence of electronics prohibited by the NCAA to steal signs and a significant paper trail.”

In other words, as Thamel and Schlabach pointed out, Michigan would have violated Article 11 subsection H of the NCAA rulebook: “Any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited,” as cited in the ESPN report.

“I do not have any knowledge or information regarding the University of Michigan football program illegally stealing signals, nor have I directed any staff member or others to participate in an off-campus scouting assignment,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said in a statement last Thursday. “I have no awareness of anyone on our staff having done that or having directed that action.”

Michigan is still under a separate NCAA investigation into an alleged recruiting violation, which is alleged to have occurred during the COVID-19 dead period. After Harbaugh was accused of failing to cooperate with that NCAA investigation, Michigan issued a self-imposed suspension for Harbaugh, which he served the first three games of the 2023 season.

Video surfaces of Stalions at Ohio State-Michigan game in 2022

WBNS-10TV reporter/anchor Adam King released video Tuesday recorded by WBNS-10TV from the first drive of last year’s Ohio State-Michigan game. The clip shows Stalions next to Wolverines defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

Video from last year's OSU vs Michigan game appears to show Connor Stalions who is at the center of the alleged sign stealing operation standing next to the UM defensive coordinator.

See their pre-snap interaction:

Here is better quality video and story https://t.co/aOX1HCRdmN: pic.twitter.com/Q6nNYt2t9x

— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) October 24, 2023

More specifically, in the WBNS-10TV video, then-Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud backs away from the formation pre-snap before looking to the Buckeyes’ sideline. At the same time, Stalions and other Michigan personnel appear to be watching the Ohio State sideline. Then Stalions, along with fellow Michigan coaches and players, point up repeatedly.

The Buckeyes scored on the play, courtesy of a four-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. But Ohio State, which was bottled up offensively and gashed defensively in the second half, lost the game — its second straight defeat to Michigan — 45-23.

Nothing shown in the video is illegal. As stated above, in-game sign stealing is legal. But what the video notably appears to show is an interaction between Stalions and Minter, who of course is a high-level member of the Michigan staff.