A new twist in the Michigan football scandal

This afternoon, Sports Illustrated published a new article, which contains text messages from suspended staffer Connor Stalions, who is at the heart of the sign-stealing allegations against the Maize and Blue. When it comes to the Michigan football scandal, this new twist may end up benefitting the Wolverines depending on how things play out down the stretch.

A new twist in the sign-stealing Michigan football scandal

When push comes to shove, there is a good chance that Michigan football will be looking to play this off as a “rogue operator” type of situation, with Stalions acting all on his own. In fact, so far, all reports show that Stalions appears on his own here — or, at the very least, operating without Jim Harbaugh and the university’s consent with his alleged rule-bending.

Connor Stalions had a “Michigan Manifesto”

Today, Sports Illustrated released a new report, sharing leaked text messages and more. Among Connor Stalions’ leaked texts are messages where he brags about legal sign-stealing (via his TV) and being close with some of the coaches. Additionally, he shares news of his 500-600 page “Michigan Manifesto,” which has people both confused and laughing at how big of a superfan Stalions truly was.

“Stalions, now 28, revealed that he was part of a small group of people — two of whom he said were at low-level positions on different college football coaching staffs — who were putting their heads together on a long-term plan to run the Michigan football program,” wrote Sports Illustrated. “Stalions claimed to have a Google document between 550 and 600 pages long that he managed daily, containing a blueprint for the Wolverines’ future. He referred to the document as a movement more than a plan, dubbing it ‘The Michigan Manifesto.'”

Sounds crazy, right? Everyone else seems to think so as well, which may wind up being a good thing for Michigan football. A lot has to happen between now and when all of this is resolved; in fact, all of this may not even be true, as it is yet to be confirmed outside of SI’s new report. That being said, assuming these texts are real, one has to assume that this plays right into the school’s defense — or at least, it plays into the narrative that he acted alone.

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