Can you hear me now? Notre Dame football prepares for NFL-style helmet communication
Mike BerardinoSOUTH BEND — Early feedback has been positive as Notre Dame football prepares for the arrival of NFL-style helmet communication this fall.
“We’re using it in practice,” Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said Saturday. “The kids like it because it keeps me from yelling at everybody else because I have to talk to the quarterback.”
On April 18, two days before Notre Dame’s spring game, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will vote on a March recommendation from the football rules committee.
Teams that qualified for bowl games last season were given the option to experiment with the system, but Notre Dame won the Sun Bowl over Oregon State with the prior system of sideline signals and oversized flash cards.
“We don’t have the 15-second cutoff yet, so you’re caught in between in terms of that,” Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “You still have signals, but then you’re using other ways to communicate with the headset. It’s really a collaboration of a lot of different things coming together.”
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The proposal up for vote this month calls for the headsets to be turned off at the snap of the ball or with 15 seconds left on the play clock. Flash cards and penny-wearing sideline signalers aren’t necessarily going away.
“There’s probably going to have to be a lot of things going on, especially if they use the NFL model,” said Golden, who spent six seasons as an NFL assistant from 2016-21. “There could be a lot that occurs in that last 15 seconds, so you have to have answers.”
Denbrock, whose LSU offense led the nation in scoring last season, sees potential benefit if the switch is approved.
“I think it’s got some advantages to it,” he said. “Some quick reminders to the quarterback once you get the play call in, provided I’m not stuttering into the headset too much, I think helps them, especially young quarterbacks: ‘Hey, based on game plan, let’s keep our eyes on the weakside.’ “
The key will be for information to flow concisely.
“Give them a little something to help them in their journey of getting the play executed the right way,” Denbrock said. “Getting them the play and the information as early as you can in the play clock gives them a chance to settle in and get everybody else lined up.”
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New technology could increase game tempo rather than bog offenses down.
“We’re still going to have a way to accelerate the speed of what we do,” Denbrock said. “I like it so far, and the quarterbacks like it. They’re not staring at the signal. They’re looking at the defense or getting the offense lined up. … I think actually in the long run it will help us run more plays than less.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.