Desmond Howard weighed in on the latest from the NCAA investigation revolving around Michigan. That investigation includes allegations of illicit sign-stealing within Jim Harbaugh’s program.

During Saturday’s broadcast of ESPN’s College GameDay, Howard said it feels like some people are trying to get Harbaugh away from Michigan:

“They’re trying to get Jim Harbaugh out of college football, get him away from Michigan,” said Howard.

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The former Wolverine star also pointed to Connor Stalions start as simply decoding signs from TV broadcasts:

“Connor himself, he admitted himself he first started to steal signs — I don’t even call it stealing, he decoded signs that you see from television. That’s how he started,” Howard explained.

Howard even pointed to the investigation as “disappointing” but only in relation to the attention it takes away from the players on the field. Instead of talking bout the players, the media is talking bout Stalions and the allegations against the analyst.

“The most disappointing thing as a former player is to see your program go through this. The flip side is it takes so much attention away from what’s going on on the field. These players are having an outstanding season,” Howard said. “We’ll sit here and talk 8-9 minutes about Connor and what he’s allegedly doing, and I think it’s unfair to the players. Then, I think our AD Warde Manual, he’ll be able to help get to the bottom of this. He’s a former player, he takes this personally.”

In the end, Howard says teams facing Michigan have “no excuses” the rest of the season now that is this out in the open.

“If there’s a silver lining. Now, moving forward, there’s no excuses. There’s no excuses. For everybody they play now, it is what it is… No excuses,” said Howard.

No matter where you stand on the issue, that is certainly an interesting take from Howard.