Michigan football running back Blake Corum denied any business affiliation with the team’s former recruiting analyst Connor Stalions, hours after images surfaced on social media which appear to show the two had an LLC together based out of Wyoming.
‘My first time hearing about it was when I went out to practice,’ Corum said Tuesday evening meeting with reporters inside Schembechler Hall. ‘First of all, I have no business with him, I don’t have any businesses with Connor or anything like that. But I’m glad whoever found it, whoever searched the web, was able to find that, I appreciate you.
‘My attorneys are on it, definitely get that figured out right away, get my name taken off of whatever it is.’
The address affiliated with the company is registered to a home that records show Stalions purchased in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shortly before he became a paid employee at the University of Michigan. The university’s online public records show Stalions was paid $55,000 annually in his role.
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Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Stalions was sued by his homeowners association for allegedly running a second-hand vacuum selling business out of his home. Corum emphatically said ‘heck no’ when asked if he invested with Stalions, and added he’s not sure how his name appeared on any of the paperwork when asked if he believed it was forged.
‘I don’t know what he did,’ Corum said. ‘I don’t know how that works, but it will get taken care of. I actually talked with my attorney right before I came out here, so they’re on it.’
Stalions is one of the most widely known names these days in college football circles; he’s been identified as the main person of interest in the NCAA’s investigation into the Michigan football program for an alleged illegal sign stealing operation.
Stalions reportedly purchased tickets on the sideline of Michigan’s future opponents and would send them to his accomplices, who would record the signals of the team in question and would send them back to Stalions to decipher.
Various reports said Stalions purchased 35 tickets to 17 different games and had a spreadsheet which indicated a $15,000 budget for his operation. Corum, who said the team has had a ‘tunnel vision’ mindset, made sure to clarify he was not involved with any alleged business.
‘That’s something I’m not really into,’ Corum said. ‘Vacuums aren’t my thing. I’m a clean person, but I’m not a cleaner. Vacuums aren’t my thing, I don’t know anything about that. Like I said I saw that right before I went out to practice.
‘Maybe other people are trying to use it as a distraction, but it’s not a distraction for me because I appreciate them finding it, you know what I’m saying, so I can take care of it. You know, that’s that.’
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.