Former Super Bowl champ defends Michigan against NCAA’s ‘ridiculous’ sign-stealing probe: "Every team is stealing signs"

Former Super Bowl champion Jeff Saturday has come to the defense of the University of Michigan amid the recent NCAA sign-stealing investigation. He's labeled the situation as "ridiculous" and believes it's being blown out of proportion.

In his view, sign-stealing is a common practice in the world of football, and every team attempts to gain that advantage. Jeffrey Bryant Saturday had a successful NFL career as a player and later as a head coach.

Jeff Saturday asserts that sign-stealing is merely a part of the game and not something that should be treated as an outlier. Appearing on "ESPN’s Get Up," he defended Michigan in their sign-stealing investigation and said:

“This thing has gotten ridiculous. First of all, we all played this game for a long time; every team is stealing signs. Trying to. Every team is trying to steal checks, they’re listening to TV copies about how quarterbacks are audible, they’re listening to all this stuff in the meeting rooms.”

Saturday emphasized that even if a team manages to steal signs, it doesn't guarantee a victory. Teams still need to execute their plays and outperform their opponents on the field.

“This is a game about physicality. It don’t matter what you know, it’s can you stop it or can you execute it,” Saturday said.

Jeff Saturday was not impressed by the excessive attention given to the Michigan Wolverines. In his view, singling out one team for this practice is unwarranted.

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Michigan under NCAA investigation for sign-stealing

The University of Michigan's football program is now under the scrutiny of the NCAA due to allegations of sign-stealing. This practice involves gathering information about the signals used for calling offensive and defensive plays.

NCAA rules don't explicitly prohibit sign-stealing, but the interception of electronic communication during games is forbidden. However, in-person scouting is clearly against the rule book, as highlighted in NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1. The bylaw further states:

“Off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season) is prohibited.”

The Big Ten Conference has been informed of this ongoing investigation and released a statement that read:

“The Big Ten Conference considers the integrity of competition to be of utmost importance and will continue to monitor the investigation.”

Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh has denied any allegations of illegal sign-stealing within the program:

“I do not condone or tolerate anyone doing anything illegal or against the NCAA rules. No matter what program or organization that I have led throughout my career, my instructions and awareness of how we scout opponents have always been firmly within the rules.”

The NCAA has expressed its intent to collaborate with member schools and conferences to ensure fair competition.