Former Michigan football analyst Connor Stalions spoke about Michigan's sign-stealing operation in a 90-minute Netflix film titled "Untold: Sign Stealer," where he is breaking his near year-long silence on the matter, just days after the NCAA sent the school a Notice of Allegations related to the impermissible scouting system in which he's named.

The film lays out Stalions' love for football and the University of Michigan and explains how he got involved in coaching at the Naval Academy as a Marine while assisting Michigan pro bono. He explains he eventually got hired on to Jim Harbaugh's staff as an analyst, and in the new documentary he explain what his role consisted of as a designated sign-stealer and his response to the allegations that he stole signs in-person using technology, a violation NCAA bylaws.

In the documentary, Stalions denies breaking any NCAA laws, claiming he stole signs off TV copies of games like every other staff in the country, and shares part of his hearing with the NCAA.

Here is what we learned from Netflix's "Untold: Sign Stealer," which released on Aug. 27, 2024.

HOW TO WATCH THE NEW DOC: Connor Stalions' Netflix doc: How to watch 'Untold: Sign Stealer' on Michigan scandal

How he got the Michigan job

Stalions pursued a career in the military, he said, because he learned about many great coaches throughout history had served. He was accepted and enrolled in the Naval Academy and joined Navy football as a student coach, where he was first told to start deciphering signals on the opposing sidelines.

After graduating, he said he attended a coaching clinic hosted by Harbaugh where he met former linebackers coach Chris Partridge, who was fired shortly after the sign-stealing saga became public, and asked if he could help out, offering to use the services learned at Navy deciphering signs.

"He said 'show up on Monday, we'll find something for you to do,'" Stalions said. "Similar to Navy, I'm not on the staff so there's not a specific role that needs to be done that's not otherwise being done. So I said, 'Well in Navy on game days, I decipher opponent signals, you want me to do that?'" And he said 'yeah, sure. I mean, I don't think we have anyone doing that.' So in 2018, that's what I did."

Developing a sign-stealing system

Stalions was hired into a full-time role with the team in 2022 as an off-field analyst, where he continued working on figuring out the opponent's calls. He said he learned in 2018 of staffers on a number of college teams who were dedicated to stealing signs, and figured he could fill that void with his background.

"When I started to learn this culture of college football intelligence operations, well here I am a captain in the Marine Corps figuring it out," Stalions said. "Well, they can't be better than I could be at this, right?"

Stalions explained his process of filming himself doing different hand signals himself, then matching those signals with what he sees from the sideline to a corresponding play call, then memorizing the connection to relay to Michigan coaches and players in real time.

"I developed my own data base which is the next evolution of my game day sheet," Stalions said. "Instead of memorizing words, I was memorizing pictures. And I would that that is the number one reason why I became as good as I did at deciphering signals."

Stalions' defense

WHAT WAS SAID DURING THE HEARING: What Connor Stalions said to NCAA officials in new Netflix film 'Untold: Sign Stealer'

Stealing an opponent's signal wasn't against NCAA rules, but in-person scouting using technology was a no-no. Stalions was accused of buying tickets for others in prime locations and having people film the sideline of Michigan's future opponent the entire time, as well as allegedly dressing up in disguise on the Central Michigan sidelines for the Chippewas' 2023 season opener against Michigan State.

Stalions was linked to buying tickets for future Big Ten opponents and potential Playoff opponents in his name, and having people electronically pay him on dates corresponding with games. Big Ten schools confirmed people who used the tickets under his name were on security footage filming the sidelines throughout the game.

Stalions maintained he never did "advanced scouting" himself and frequently bought college football tickets to give to friends and family as well as flip for a profit.

"One, I've never advance scouted," Stalions said. "Two, if this is about signals, I obtained signals the same way every other team does — through watching TV copies and talking to other intel guys on other teams. What set me apart was the way in which I organized that information and processed it on game day."

After saying the tickets were just for friends or re-selling, the documentary interviewed Yahoo's Dan Wetzel, who said, "I reached out to the schools through the Freedom of Information Act, and stadium security video says there's a guy in Connor Stalions' seat all by himself, just videotaping the opposing signs. Kind of stands out."

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, a self-described friend of Stalions, said in an interview that Stalions told him directly that he was on the sidelines for the CMU-MSU game.

In the excerpt of his NCAA hearing that Netflix included, Stalions denied being on the sidelines by saying "I don't recall attending a specific game" when asked about it and did not answer a follow-up question from NCAA officials.

To close the documentary, Stalions said, "I'd argue I don't break the rules. I just walk a very fine line to the gray. I exploit the rules I don't break the rules, I exploit them. And I don't regret a thing. Every single day I treated it like this day depended on Michigan winning a national championship."

Accusations thrown at Ohio State

Stalions and his lawyers claimed the NCAA investigation was born out of hatred for Michigan from Ohio State, especially after losing to the Wolverines in 2021 and 2022. They claimed Stalions was the target of a private investigation from a law firm, who then handed the investigation over to the NCAA, leading to the swift action last football season.

A report came out from the Washington Post during the height of the chaos that a private investigative firm had been looking into Michigan's sign-stealing operation and presented the evidence to the NCAA to pursue.

"The firm had developed at least one source on the inside of Michigan football and they had documents from inside the Michigan football program that showed the schedule of games and identified the names of people that were going to be filming," Will Hobson, the Washington Post reporter said.

"All of the NCAA process has been based upon a spreadsheet that Connor had," Stalions' attorney Brad Beckworth said. "That spreadsheet was never shared with anyone. The Washington Post got it. We think his email was hacked."

NOT TUNING IN: Michigan football's Sherrone Moore has no plans to watch Connor Stalions documentary

Stalions alleged Hobson had ties to Ryan Day dating back to college, and Ryan Day's brother, who is a private investigator by trade, opened up an LLC in Michigan to hack into his computer.

"(The internet) is how I learned that Ryan Day was at BC (Boston College) the same time I was," Hobson said. "I can't say with 100% certainty that noboby from Ohio State wasn't because I don't know who paid this firm. So it's entirely possible somebody connected to Ohio State or, you know, Michigan State was involved with this, but whoever hired them doesn't really change the fact that the evidence was what the evidence was.

"The NCAA didn't open an investigation because they got an angry email from Ryan Day, they opened an investigation because somebody collected evidence that, in their opinion, suggested there was an operation going on in violation of NCAA rules."

Beckworth asked the NCAA official during the hearing if the NCAA is looking into Stalions' hacking claim related to Ohio State, but the NCAA said they cannot share details of the investigation.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Connor Stalions Netflix Michigan sign-stealing doc: What we learned