The Weekender: Connor Stalions "Sign Stealer" Documentary Releases Tuesday, Colorado Bans a Denver Post Columnist Critical of Deion Sanders and Also Pursued NIL Funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund

By George Eisner on August 25, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Former Michigan football analyst Connor Stalions
Kirthmon F. Dozier — USA TODAY NETWORK
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Connor Stalions "Sign Stealer" Documentary Out Tuesday on Netflix

Last month, Netflix announced that its "Untold" docuseries would feature an episode in the upcoming season dedicated to the Connor Stalions scandal at Michigan. The announcement occurred roughly two weeks prior to the leak of the NCAA's notice of allegations draft accusing current Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore of deleting a thread of 52 text messages corresponding with Stalions in October of last year.

The actual NOA has reportedly arrived at Michigan less than 48 hours before the documentary's release and includes much of the language from the original leak.

The NOA draft also accused Stalions of removing hard drives from Michigan football offices and handing off an opponent's play calling sheet to a football player prior to his dismissal. Furthermore, the draft confirmed Stalions infiltrated the Central Michigan sideline for Michigan State's 2023 season opener, that he impermissibly scouted "at least 13 future Michigan opponents on at least 58 occasions" and that his conduct "seriously undermined or threatened the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model." Stalions has yet to publicly comment on any of these controversies.

In the teaser trailer provided by Netflix — also featuring episodes that cover former U.S. soccer goalie Hope Solo and the 2009 murder of Steve McNair — Stalions states directly that, "if I'm a bad guy, then everyone in football is a bad guy."

The documentary will feature interviews from Stalions himself as well as members of Michigan football's journalism beat and the founder of Barstool Sports, David Portnoy — a U-M alum. In a clip from the episode leaked two weeks ago, Stalions details how he believes he became an expert at deciphering signals by spending multiple weekends taking thousands of selfies that featured him performing various gestures he had seen used by the Wolverines' football staff and others across the sport.

The timing of the documentary's release seems highly curious given not only the NCAA's ongoing investigation of Stalions' conduct and what knowledge Michigan staff had of such actions, but also the long-running effort by Wolverine football fans and media to continually fabricate the narrative of Stalions as a "lone wolf."

Stalions also recently obtained his first coaching job earlier this month as a defensive coordinator for Mumford High School in Detroit. Upon hiring the recently disgraced player personnel analyst to his staff, new Mumford head coach William McMichael said, "I got the most hated man in college football right now."

The "Untold" series will release "Sign Stealer" on Netflix this Tuesday. However, only time will tell what truths or lies Stalions relays to the public regarding his violations, correspondence with Wolverine staff and his 600-page manifesto plotting to eventually take over the program.

Colorado Athletics Bans Denver Post Columnist Sean Keeler

After publishing several offseason articles criticizing Deion Sanders, Colorado University's Athletic Department informed the Denver Post last week that columnist Sean Keeler has received an indefinite ban. Due to "a series of sustained, personal attacks," Keeler will no longer have his questions answered by any football staff at related events. The ban applies specifically to the football program.

Going back to December of last year, Keeler has referred to Sanders in the press as:

At his preseason press conference yesterday, Sanders responded directly to critical media members by declaring he's "not negative to anybody here," "not built to hate," "I'm not going to match your ignorance," and "what you say or what you do is not going to change my life."

Admonishment for the ban from surrounding local and national college football media members has held strong since the decision went into effect. Earlier today, Jim Trotter of The Athletic labeled Sanders as a "hypocrite" for shielding himself from criticism.

The Buffaloes open their football season against the North Dakota State Bison on Thursday. Colorado currently sits just shy of a 10-point favorite on the spread.

Colorado Football Sought NIL Funding from Saudi Arabia's PIF

The controversy surrounding Keeler vs. Sanders may have not even served as the most head-turning story to emerge from the Buffaloes' football program last week. On Thursday, SI.com published a story in which former Colorado special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly explained how he had pursued NIL funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

After leaving the football program on August 1st due to disagreements with members of the Buffaloes' administration, Reilly — a carryover hire from Sanders' staff at Jacksonville State — stated in his resignation letter that the Saudis "were interested in pursuing business." According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the PIF of Saudi Arabia currently controls $925 billion USD worth of assets, which would make their potential bankrolling of a college football program likely far more lucrative than what any regular booster would be able to provide.

The Saudi government already owns stakes or assumes outright control of professional soccer teams across several countries, as well as a handful of combat sports organizations while also serving as the lead backers of LIV Golf. Given the country's profound investments across the sports world and the wild west landscape of NIL legislation in college athletics, it certainly does not seem farfetched that the PIF could soon have some connection to one or several schools seeking to compete for top talent.

ICYMI

Four-Star Offensive Lineman Jayden McFadden Commits to Ohio State

One week after narrowly missing out on David Sanders Jr. as a top commitment, Justin Frye has rebounded by landing a major out-of-state OL recruit in the form of Jayden McFadden out of Maryland. McFadden serves as the second-highest rated offensive lineman in Ohio State's 2025 class after offensive tackle Carter Lowe.

Nick McLarty to Start at Punter for Buckeyes' Season Opener

Ryan Day has named Nick McLarty as Ohio State's starting punter for the Akron game. The freshman standing 6'7" and weighing 255 lbs. has already turned heads for not only his alarming size at the position, but also videos of the remarkable hangtime and height on his kicks since even before committing to the Buckeyes.

NCAA Oversight Committee Considers Eliminating Spring Transfer Portal

College football players currently have two windows of opportunity to switch programs during the offseason in both spring and winter. A new proposal supported by all of the power conferences could eliminate the former by as soon as the end of this year, leaving December 9th through January 7th as the only dates to consider a transfer going forward.

What’s Next

  • Women's Soccer: vs. Ashland, Today, 6 p.m. ET on B1G+
  • Men's Soccer: vs. Akron, Today, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
  • Field Hockey: vs. UAlbany, Friday, 4 p.m. ET on B1G+
  • Women's Volleyball: vs. Florida International, Friday, 5 pm. ET
  • Cross Country: Tommy Evans Invitational, Friday, 6 p.m. ET
  • Six Days: Ohio State football's season opener vs. Akron
  • 97 Days: The Game
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