Arizona State says it steals signals after Mike Leach calls for investigation
A few days ahead of Washington State’s game against Arizona State, coach Mike Leach thinks the Pac-12 should open an investigation into allegations of the Sun Devils stealing signals.
“I mean, you’ve got two straight schools with concerns over it, back-to-back, and they have a reputation for it that extends beyond that,’” Leach said. “The conference probably ought to investigate them and see what they’re doing, make sure nothing is illegal.”
Arizona State coach Todd Graham responded to the allegations saying he and his team are doing nothing wrong.
Graham is correct that stealing signals is not against NCAA rules, but it is frowned upon by most coaches, which has prompted the complaints, even by teams that have beaten ASU.
Utah was the first to express concern about the Sun Devils when coach Kyle Whittingham said he saw an Arizona State coach make a passing motion with his arm just before the Utes attempted a pass during the 34-18 win. Utah’s center, Siaosi Aiono, said he thought the Sun Devils had deciphered some of the Utes signals from a previous contest.
Last week, Oregon used sheets to cover each assistant coach that was sending in signals so that the opposing sideline couldn’t see the calls. The Ducks won the contest in triple overtime.
“From the intel we got, I’ve never heard of a team going to the lengths they go to to try to get the signals,” Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost told reporters Monday.
Leach didn’t say if he’d put up sheets like Oregon, but it’s clear he’s concerned.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Leach said of the sheets. “You never know. We might.”
For more Washington State news, visit WazzouWatch.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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