JUST IN: Michigan QB McCarthy drops a bombshell and brutal verdict on sign-stealing saga with a four letter word to NCAA and Big Ten Coaches

(AP) — According to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the sign-stealing issue that has lingered over Michigan’s season has overshadowed the team’s efforts to go undefeated and reach the College Football Playoff championship game.

Michigan plays Washington for the national championship on Monday in Houston, as the NCAA continues to investigate allegations that the Wolverines violated NCAA rules by having a staff member do in-person advance scouting and using video equipment to pick off future opponents’ play-call signs from the sideline over a three-year period ending this season.

When asked about the likelihood of the NCAA ordering Michigan to vacate wins during a CFP media teleconference, McCarthy said it would be awful for the players not to be acknowledged for what they’ve accomplished.

“But at the end of the day,” he went on to say, “it’s not going to change the amount of accomplishment and the amount of pride for being on this football team and just everything that we accomplished because we know what we put in, we know the work that we’ve put in, and we know that we did things the right way as players.”

Coach Jim Harbaugh shrugged off a question about potential punishments, saying he is focused on the game versus Washington.

“I don’t know if you want to live in rumorville or speculation, but we just don’t really have any room to be doing that at this point,” he went on to say. “That’s done elsewhere.”

The NCAA does not explicitly prohibit sign stealing, but there are restrictions prohibiting the use of technological devices to record an opponent’s signals and in-person, prior scouting of prospective opponents during the season. There are other regulations against unsportsmanlike or unethical behavior by coaches, and head coaches are often held accountable for violations that occur under them.

Harbaugh was suspended for the remaining three regular-season games by the Big Ten for breaking the conference’s sportsmanship code. Harbaugh has denied knowing anything about sign-stealing. Due to charges of recruiting infractions, Michigan banned Harbaugh for the first three games of the season.

According to McCarthy, 80% of college football teams steal signs.

“It’s just a thing about football,” that’s what he stated. “It’s been around for a long time. We actually had to adapt because, in 2020 or 2019, when Ohio State was taking our signs — which is legal and they were doing — we needed to catch up to them and create a fair playing field.”

McCarthy later corrected himself to The Associated Press. 

“When I said we need to level the playing field, I meant in terms of how we change our own signs, how we develop our signs and how and when we distribute those changes when we know signs are likely to have been stolen,” he was quoted as saying.

McCarthy and defensive tackle Mason Graham both stated that they and their colleagues spent a significant amount of time working within the rules to gather signs about how opponents may behave in various situations.

“We do watch so much film and look for those little tendencies and spend like 10, 15 minutes on one clip alone just looking at all the little details,” McCarthy said, alluding to linebacker or defensive lineman posture and variances in where cornerbacks and safeties line up. “You could say it’s all sign stealing, but there’s a lot more that goes into play, and a lot of stuff that gets masked, a lot of work that gets masked just because of the outside perception of what sign stealing is all about.”