The legend of Michigan’s infamous sign-stealer Connor Stalions just won’t die — and now his name is being dragged into one of the biggest upsets in recent SEC history.
Rumors have swirled for months that Stalions, who became a national villain during Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, secretly played a role in South Carolina’s 2022 dismantling of then–No. 5 Tennessee. That night, the Gamecocks stunned the college football world, knocking the Volunteers out of the College Football Playoff race and shredding the nation’s No. 1 offense.
The theory goes like this: Stalions had inside knowledge of Tennessee’s signals. In late October 2022, he bought a ticket to Tennessee’s home game against Kentucky. The seat was close enough to spy on the Vols’ sideline. But Stalions never showed — instead, he allegedly passed the ticket to an associate. Tennessee crushed Kentucky 44-6, vaulted to No. 1 in the CFP rankings, and looked unstoppable… until South Carolina ruined everything three weeks later.
Still, Stalions says the conspiracy is nothing more than SEC folklore.
“Oh my gosh. (That is) one of the dozens of conspiracies that are out there,” Stalions told reporters. “I’ve never met anyone at South Carolina. … There was no trying to screw over Tennessee.”
And for those who believe he funneled Tennessee’s signals to Columbia? Stalions insists that’s laughable. “If I had Tennessee’s signals, I would’ve kept them for Michigan to use and not given them to South Carolina,” he said.
So was it just Shane Beamer’s squad playing the game of their lives? Or was there more lurking behind the upset that derailed Tennessee’s dream season?
One thing’s for sure: the Connor Stalions conspiracy isn’t going away anytime soon.
