Sam Webb: Schembechler Hall shocked & extra motivated by ESPN allegations
Sam Webb called around to his Michigan sources to get their take on the ESPN report regarding Connor Stalions. "We found out when you did," said one. Rest of the story here (please do subscribe to 247 to get beyond the paywall). But I think it's significant info in that it lends further credence to the idea that this was a rogue staffer, not something that the Michigan coaching staff sanctioned or organized.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
I hate to be that guy, but don't spill paywalled info. Not fair to Sam or the boys at Michigan Insider.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:20 AM ^
He didn’t really though, just gave a snippet of what was said. I think it’s fair.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:22 AM ^
I agree. It's one generic quote, a link to the paywall, and a suggestion to pony up. I think that's "advertising" for Sam more than "stealing his content."
October 24th, 2023 at 10:41 AM ^
But maybe he’s a ringleader of a vast network of leakers of paywalled info on the internet…another horrendous scandal we all have to feel shame about. Will it never end!?!😩
October 24th, 2023 at 12:27 PM ^
I don't want to create a new thread to discuss this, but alleged OSU sign-stealers Brent Zdebski and Sam McGrath have taken their Venmo accounts private. Prior to that happening, someone posted one of their Venmo transactions at 247 that took place 2 days before the OSU-ND game.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
And in classic fashion, Michigan fans posting this is being called "copium" or "reaching," but other people doing the same to Michigan is considered valid journalism
October 24th, 2023 at 1:01 PM ^
I do wonder why there isn't a vast network of Michigan people digging up dirt on OSU's sign stealing operations. This is the first I've seen of anything related to OSU's shenanigans, which we all know, is a real thing.
They hit low, we should hit lower.
October 24th, 2023 at 1:36 PM ^
Oh, it's happening. There are a lot of smart people out there with free time and knowledge on how to scour the internet.
October 24th, 2023 at 2:52 PM ^
A friend in Missouri with little interest in the sordid details of College Football texted me today saying that they had knowledge of a law firm just having been retained by one of those two folks. Not quite a Sopwith coincidence, but I was like "small world...."
GO BLUE!
jiM
October 24th, 2023 at 8:40 PM ^
This is getting juicer and juicier
October 24th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
I guess that's fair. But that was fundamentally the essence of Sam's post. I'll eat crow on this. Neg bang me. I need it today. Tuesdays blow.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^
Negged, because I aim to please.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:02 AM ^
I'll neg you because the fucking Tru Stage scorched earth ad came up when I was reading your comment. Correlation = causation, right?
/s
October 24th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
I. AM. TRU. STAGE.
/s
October 24th, 2023 at 9:43 AM ^
Yeah, Brian and co. do that all the time. If anything, it probably helps the pay sites because it is like free advertising for them.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:24 AM ^
Yeah, Sam said pretty much the same thing as the OP on his radio show. If you want a lot more details, subscribe to 247.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:03 AM ^
Sam also said where Jimmy Hoffa is buried, but I cannot disclose as it is paywalled.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
Last seen around the corner from the house I grew up in.
Good times, good times...
October 24th, 2023 at 2:19 PM ^
Birmingham Farms?
October 25th, 2023 at 5:50 AM ^
Foxcroft
October 24th, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
The best thing the internet can do for society is to make information free. For some reason, instead of doing that, we make misinformation free and stick information behind paywalls.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:21 AM ^
Ryan Day is behind this. He's just mad that someone recorded him with a grey beard hair.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:47 AM ^
I mean in all honesty all signs point to this, right? From the message board rumors about Day hiring a private investigator to Pete Thamel being known to have OSU sources to 2 of the 3 pictures that the NCAA received being from the OSU game... it all kinda seems like we know who the "sources" are
October 24th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
It fits the broader narrative on sign wars between OSU and UM. Others have said OSU had Don Brown's signs figured out. It seems Michigan identified that as a weakness and looked to address it, hopefully not through anything illegal. Michigan got the leg up on the sign front and this is Ohio State's response.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
It could also be that neither side ever really "cracked the code," that Brown and Knowles just have predictable tendencies, and that this is mainly gamesmanship.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
OSU had Don Brown's signs figured out
Shit, I had Don Brown's signs figured out: create problems with aggression.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
"Hm, guess I'll blitz on this play."
October 24th, 2023 at 12:14 PM ^
THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH MAN COVERAGE THAT CAN'T BE SOLVED WITH MOAR MAN COVERAGE
October 24th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
OSU had Don Brown's signs figured out
Shit, I had Don Brown's signs figured out: create problems with aggression.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
Pretty sure I had Don Brown's signs figured out.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
Let's not forget that the first smoke on this--way before we heard anything from Michigan insiders such as Sam--was from random OSU "insiders" on message boards. It was an Ohio recruiting guy who wouldn't have any reason to know anything at all about Michigan, and an anonymous message board poster who allegedly has a track record of getting OSU-related scoops. To me, that's one of the clearest smoking guns pointing to Ryan Day and OSU
October 24th, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
FWIW, I live in NW Ohio and I had a buddy texting me about this about a week before it broke. He didn't give me really any details just that SOMETHING BIG was going to break that Michigan was going to be in huge trouble for. I didn't pry because I figured it was B.S. His source was a buddy who works down in Columbus who supposedly got the info from Ryan Day's wife.
Take it for what it's worth, that's what I did.. but it's one more data point that this all started from Columbus.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:24 AM ^
It's plausible he'd heard something (tho Day's wife is a source that I find... a bit hard to believe lol), since it seems that whoever was working on this at OSU was unable to contain their excitement. I just want to add the obvious point: It's really embarrassing that a program and fanbase whose stance for like two decades was, "Hahaha what are you gonna do, whine about where the ball got spotted? Skill issue" is now clutching pearls, running for the recess monitor, and trying to turn this into the biggest scandal in CFB history. Just pathetic
October 24th, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
Mrs. Base the source of the leak - LOL
October 24th, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
I agreed with you when he first came to me with it. But I also have another friend who does HVAC down in Columbus and his company takes care of Ryan Days HVAC equipment, so he sees them and speaks to them a decent amount while doing the HVAC maintenance so it's not implausible that someone else might have a similar connection and yeah... It definitely seems someone down in Columbus couldn't wait to spill the beans and probably thought that they had a bigger story then they do, because it was pitched to me as Harbaugh was going to end up in jail and the game at the end of the year would be canceled.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
That's what Sam Webb has been saying on WTKA since the story first broke. No paywall needed as Sam has been discussing this daily on his radio broadcasts. BTW; he'll have more to say as this week goes on so tune in.
October 24th, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
Ryan Day doesn’t lose, other teams steal his signs (see Clemson 2020) - Soft!!
October 24th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
Ryan Day is pissed because he managed to take an offense featuring the most dynamic player in CFB and make it boring. His teams get worse each year since Meyer left. Born on third base indeed.
October 24th, 2023 at 1:06 PM ^
I do think it's possible that Day and others see a train wreck approaching and are trying to get way out in front of it/keep his job. If this emerged a week before The Game he'd look like the pink-cheeked whiner that he is; as it stands, the results are pretty darned mixed. I mean, they come in and we kill them now, he's going to get laughed at, and worse.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:22 AM ^
I am also on the belief Stalions went rogue. He is a low-level staff member, but he did not attend the games. He bought tickets for 3 other people to attend games who are not part of the staff as far as everyone knows. This is not breaking any NCAA rules because no one on staff attended these games and filmed signs. It's immoral and unethical, but not against the rules as long as Stalions was not reimbursed by anyone on staff, because at that point it would mean that individual knew what was going on. I am no lawyer, and have no background in Criminal Law, but I would think it would be very difficult to find evidence that a staff member outside of Stalions knew, or used his informatioin.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
I wouldn't say it's immoral or unethical. In fact, the rule was enacted not because scouting other teams at their venues is unethical, but because not all schools could afford to do it, so less wealthy schools wanted the playing field leveled. In its essence, it's finding a competitive advantage. A guy goes to another team's game to try and connect signs with plays and outcomes. If we didn't know about this so-called rule, we'd think it's just a small part of strategizing.
October 24th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
In fact, the rule was enacted not because scouting other teams at their venues is unethical, but because not all schools could afford to do it, so less wealthy schools wanted the playing field leveled
And in the age of NIL, anyone claiming to care about unfair financial competitive advantage is being disingenuous
October 24th, 2023 at 10:00 AM ^
Personally, I have been trying to decide whether stealing signs would give a team a greater competitive advantage than, oh I don't know, bribing elite 5 star talent with an array of cash and prizes to sign with your school like OSU, Bama, Georgia, Clemson, Oregon, et.al. have been doing for years, in some cases decades. Yet, the NCAA has conveniently looked the other way on THAT little bit of rule breaking.
October 24th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
This is what pisses me off the most. Texas A&M, with no history of anything notable, all of a sudden signs 7 five stars, and not a peep from the NCAA
October 24th, 2023 at 11:57 AM ^
Exactly what I have been thinking. Glass houses are everywhere in college football.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:25 AM ^
It’s definitely frowned upon, like jerking off on an airplane.
October 24th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
Or making change from a church collection basket
October 24th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
Jerking off is like real estate.
Good timing is important, and location, location, location.