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College football players have moved closer to living the lives of NFL pros in recent years, thanks to sponsorship money that’s coming in from Name, Image and Likeness deals and an out-of-control transfer portal that mirrors free agency.
The college game also will resemble the NFL a little more on the field this season, a result of in-helmet communication from coach to player and two-minute warnings at the end of each half.
In addition to that, up to 18 tablets will be distributed to teams for use on the sidelines, in the locker room and in coaches’ booths, allowing them to view in-game video, the TV broadcast feed, and camera angles from the team’s sideline and end zone. The tablets can be viewed by all team personnel but cannot connect to other devices, project larger images or provide data and analytics.
The NCAA approved all three changes for FBS games in April.
In-helmet communication has been a topic of discussion for years, but concerns about cost, logistics, and the liability and warranties of helmets that would have to be modified left the idea on the back burner — until the NCAA Rules Committee officially proposed the change in March.
“It’s nice because you can talk directly to the quarterback and you don’t have to rely on signals,” Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said.
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Direct, real-time communication between coaches and players was unanimously approved by all 12 members of the Mountain West Conference, according to a league spokesperson. It will be managed by a company called Coachcomm, which already provides the headsets used in communication between coaches in the booth and on the sideline, meaning it will require very few upgrades, the Mountain West said.
One coach on each side of the ball, generally the offensive and defensive coordinators, will be able to communicate with one player on offense — the quarterback — and one on defense through technology installed in their helmets. Players on the receiving end will be designated by a green dot on the back of the helmet.
Coach-to-player communication will shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped — whichever comes first. The NFL, which added the technology in 1994, also shuts communication off with 15 seconds left on the play clock.
As many as 12 college teams experimented with in-helmet communication in bowl games last year. Boise State and UCLA, which met in the LA Bowl, were not among them, according to a spokesperson for Boise State.
Like most teams around the country, the Broncos spent spring ball familiarizing themselves with the technology.
On defense, linebacker Andrew Simpson and safety Zion Washington had the devices in their helmets at different times. Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said which player wears the helmet could change from game to game. A linebacker could wear it against a team with a run-heavy scheme, for instance, and it could be a player in the secondary against a team that likes to pass the ball.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to go when bullets start flying,” Chinander said. “But it’s been a good way to help guys with situational football and for ID’ing things they need to ID presnap.”
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Simpson, a redshirt junior, was named second-team All-Mountain West last season after posting 66 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He said hearing a voice in his helmet was distracting at first, but he got used to it.
“It’s like having a coach on the field with you,” he said. “It helps you play faster because you don’t have to look to the sideline for the call. You can look at the offense and see how they’re lined up, so I feel like it kind of puts you a step ahead.”
Multiple coaches were on the mic with players this spring, but it will be only one on offense and one on defense when the season starts.
Koetter and tight ends coach Nate Potter, who also holds the titles of run-game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator, were communicating with the quarterbacks during spring practice. It will be Koetter when the season starts, and that may be where the Broncos have a leg up on the competition.
Koetter, who ran the offense on an interim basis in 2022 and was hired in February to replace Bush Hamdan, has extensive experience with in-helmet communication from his years in the NFL. After serving as head coach at Boise State (1998-2000) and Arizona State (2001-2006), he had stints as offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was also the Buccaneers’ head coach from 2016 to 2018.
Koetter said a direct line of communication will make it easier to inform QBs where to look for pressure or which matchup to focus on in the passing game.
He also said there’s a fine line between speaking to the quarterbacks and getting in their ear so much that they feel as if their head is spinning.
“I’m fighting that right now,” Koetter said in April. “You want to tell them things that can help the offense, but sometimes you’ve just got to let them go and let them play.”
Other rules the NCAA is adopting this year:
Horse collar tackles within the tackle box will result in a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Conferences will have the option of using a collaborative video replay review system.
Broadcast partners can conduct interviews with coaches at the end of the first and third quarters.
