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USATSI

Manny Diaz, the defensive coordinator for No. 10 Penn State, found a creative way to stoke the flames of this Saturday's key Big Ten East clash against No. 3 Michigan. The Nittany Lions posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) imploring fans to show up early and get loud. Diaz made his appeal by first signing things out. 

He first tapped his wrist to signify filling the stadium out early, then put a hand to his ear for crowd noise and finally made a "three" gesture with his hand for third down. This, of course, comes as the NCAA is investigating Michigan for an alleged sign-stealing scheme. 

"Those are the signals for 'get there early,' 'be loud,' 'especially on third down,'" Diaz said. His segment can be seen at the end of the video below: 

The NCAA's probe into illegal sign-stealing by Michigan centers around Connor Stalions, a former low-level staffer who allegedly spearheaded a scheme that involved purchasing tickets to more than 30 games to Michigan's Big Ten or potential postseason opponents in order to decode play-call signals. Such activity is considered advanced scouting, which NCAA rules prohibit. Stalions resigned from his position Nov. 3. 

Michigan is undefeated entering Saturday's game while the Nittany Lions are 8-1 on the year. Penn State's lone loss came to fellow Big Ten East rival Ohio State, setting James Franklins' squad behind in the race for the Big Ten Championship Game.