The sign-stealing conversation surrounding Michigan football has found its way to Utah.
A few days after the Utes stunned USC on the road, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley was asked by local media about him utilizing screens in front of his play calls. His response seemed to suggest Utah was the team that had been picking up on the Trojans’ signs.
“An opponent we’ve played against multiple times, and an opponent we know does a good job of trying to grab signals,” Riley told Los Angeles media. The screens are “just a way to try to protect a few of the things that we do.”
Riley’s comment fell short of an accusation, especially considering that he said some types of sign-stealing “has been going on for forever.”
Utes coach Kyle Whittingham addressed college football’s sign-stealing controversy earlier in the week, saying that figuring out an opponent’s signs basically comes with the territory during games.
“In my opinion, in-game, if you’re getting your signs stolen, that’s your fault,” Whittingham said. “Because they’re too simplistic and too easy. In-game, that’s kind of commonplace, people try to pick up on signs with each other. Where it gets dicey is if you do things outside of the game and that type of thing. I think that’s what really is frowned upon.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oregon Ducks staff use screens to shield play signals during their NCAA football game against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
In Utah’s loss to Oregon over the weekend, it appeared the Ducks coaching staff also used screens to block any stealing of their play calls. When asked Monday, Whittingham reiterated his earlier point that in-game sign stealing is the fault of a team not protecting its play calls well enough, and said he wouldn’t be offended if teams tried to do that to the Utes.
“I would never have a problem with teams trying to steal our signals,” Whittingham said. “I would never, ever personally feel that somebody that is doing that to us is out of the line because if they’re if they’re doing it, then congratulations to them and we have to fix things.”
Whittingham’s potential solution for sign-stealing? Microphones in helmets.
“Oh, I’d love it,” Whittingham said. “Yeah, the headset for the players, like the intercom system? Yeah, absolutely. I think that would be a big positive.”