Skull Session: Penalties Near in Michigan’s Sign-Stealing Scandal, Oregon Calls Itself “That Team Out West” and Randy Gradishar Becomes a Pro Football Hall of Famer

By Chase Brown on August 5, 2024 at 5:00 am
Sherrone Moore Cries
Matthew O'Haren / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Jayden Ballard, oh me, oh my.

Have a good Monday.

 THOUGHT OF THE DAY. "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" Sir Walter Scott said those words in 1808. Jim Harbaugh quoted them in 2015. Now, the Michigan football program will soon receive penalties for its deception — Connor Stalions' sign-stealing operation, which helped the Wolverines collect a 40-3 record, three Big Ten championships, three College Football Playoff appearances and one national title over the past three seasons.

Over the weekend, Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel obtained the NCAA's notice of allegation draft for Michigan. The document states seven Wolverine coaches committed NCAA rules violations in recent years. Here are those coach's sins:

Sherrone Moore deleted 52 text messages between him and Stalions on the same day media reports revealed Stalions' sign-stealing operation. For his actions, he could face a show-cause penalty and suspension.

Jim Harbaugh did not cooperate with the NCAA's probe because he denied the enforcement staff's requests to view relevant messages and phone records from his cell phone. Harbaugh also failed to look for "red flags" associated with Stalions, as he had multiple interns and one full-time staffer participate in his scheme. Harbaugh could face a show-cause penalty should he return to college football in the future.

Stalions removed hard drives from Michigan's football offices. He also gave a football player a sheet containing play-call signals of a future opponent – I wonder who that opponent could have been! – and instructed the player to drop off that sheet at an intern's house until he could retrieve it later. Stalions refused to cooperate with enforcement staff during the NCAA's investigation and would not let Michigan review his phone.

But wait! There's more!

The draft states the NCAA collected evidence that proves Stalions obtained a bench pass and disguised himself as a Central Michigan coach for the Chippewas' season opener with Michigan State. It also states former staffers Chris Partridge and Denard Robinson committed Level 1 violations related to the Stalions case. They also committed Level 2 violations unrelated to the case, as did Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale.

Geez-ow, that's a tough look!

While ESPN reported the draft can still be changed, it's clear the NCAA has Michigan on the ropes. A book once told me the wages of sin is death, so NCAA, please deliver death to the Wolverines. Ohio State fans expect no less.

 THAT TEAM OUT WEST? While tensions between Ohio State and Michigan have seldom been higher, I believe the Buckeyes and Wolverines can agree on one matter: The Oregon Ducks are kind of... annoying.

Last week, Oregon announced a new docuseries called "That Team Out West"– yes, you read that correctly – which looks like the Ducks' attempt to position themselves alongside the greatest rivalry in sports.

On Thursday, Oregon football staffer Scott Anderson confirmed that, when creating the docuseries' name, he and the program's creative team wanted to receive attention from Ohio State fans.

"If you're an Ohio State fan, we want you to hate us," Anderson said on the Bleav in Oregon podcast. "That's the goal."

Yeah, that ain't it, Chief.

I don't hate Oregon – at least, not yet. For now, I find the Ducks mildly annoying. I'll report back the Monday after Oct. 12 (and, according to preseason Big Ten Championship Game odds, the Monday after Dec. 7) and share whether those feelings change during the 2024 season.

 RANDY GRADISHAR. Former Ohio State linebacker Randy Gradishar was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame over the weekend. 

Eleven Warriors beat reporter Dan Hope wrote a feature on Gradishar before his induction, and the infamous 11W Staff wrote a news item after. Still, I wanted to mention the words of Gradishar's Denver Broncos teammate, Tom Jackson, as he presented Gradishar for enshrinement:

"Randy was relentless on the field. It is that relentless nature that led to sometimes 18, 19, 20 tackles that he had every single time he took the field. The closer to the goal line (the other team) got, the better he got. He stopped those guys virtually every time.

"In a 10-year career, he had over 2,000 tackles. That's more than 200 tackles a season. And he did it most of those years in 14-game seasons. I would tell him. 'You're playin' by yourself, man.' I never saw a better tackler. Those numbers — I don't think — will ever be matched. I don't see it.

'For Randy, it begins with the character. He never gave off this vibe of, 'I'm a star.' It was never a part of who he was. His character was built around his family, his faith and hard work. That, to me, is the reason he's headed to Canton, Ohio.

"People talk about the lunch-pail guy. Well, when the lunch-pail guy is really great, and you put that out there, then you get something special. I am honored and privileged to present my friend, Randolph Charles Gradishar, for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

Cheers to Jackson for a wonderful tribute.

Cheers to Gradishar for a wonderful career.

"Meatball" is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

 CARMEN'S CREW. To end the Skull Session, I have to offer a special shoutout to Carmen's Crew, who defeated Forever Coogs, 69-65, in the 2024 TBT Championship on Sunday.

While all of Carmen's Crew's former players deserve praise – especially former Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger, who scored the game-winner for the Buckeyes' alumni team and won TBT MVP – I must credit Scott Thomas for his performance in the summer tournament and the championship game.

Scott and I coached basketball at Buckeye Valley High School in Delaware, Ohio, for three years, helping lead the Barons to a conference title and a district finals appearance in the 2021-22 season. Scott is a great player and a great coach. I am thankful to call him a friend and mentor.

Congratulations on a job well done, Scott.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "All I Do Is Win" - DJ Khaled, Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain and Snoop Dogg.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Noah Lyles wins Olympic 100-meter sprint by five-thousandths of a second... Chicken parade prompts changes to proposed restrictions in Iowa’s capital city... Inside the pin-trading market at the Olympics... No, a French pole vaulter did not lose an Olympic medal because of his bulge... Ohio State Fair's origins included Columbus residents.

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