And this offseason, college football is not short on impactful rule changes.
So the Oklahoma State coach has thoughts on the new technology and guidelines coming to the game this season.
The three most notable rule changes are:
- Two-minute warning time stoppages at the end of each half, like the NFL.
- In-helmet communication devices for a coach to speak to a player on the field.
- Tablets on the sidelines for teams to review in-game video.
He suggested last year the need for an in-helmet communication system amid the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.
Still, he feels college football ventured into the technological advancement a little too softly with its newest change.
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Communication device ‘doesn’t do much’
Following the NFL’s footsteps, college football will allow one player on each side of the ball to have an in-helmet communication device so a coach can speak directly to the player until the play clock reaches 15 seconds.
“One guy either has to yell what he hears to everybody, which is not gonna go over good in a big stadium with a college football environment, or you’re back to signaling. So I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I’m just not sure we took the step that’s gonna stop the issues that forced us into this situation.”
“On defense, you can give it to two safeties, your corners and one linebacker, and he becomes the quarterback on defense. That’s what I proposed to them, but I’m a process-of-elimination guy who solves problems really easily. I didn’t have to think that through. But they didn’t buy it.”
“We haven’t made that decision yet,” he said. “We were hoping multiple ear pieces would be allowed. We’ve had the discussion about who gets it. I would guess with most college football teams, it’ll be a linebacker or safety.”
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Tablets a needed upgrade
Again copying the NFL, college football will allow 18 video-capable tablets on each sideline for players and coaches to review video of the current game only.
On NFL television broadcasts, cameras regularly catch players using the handheld tablets on the sideline for a quick review session of the previous series.
“We’re just now getting to a tablet, but we can’t use anything other than just that tablet.”
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Two-minute warning adds strategy
Another idea plucked from the NFL, college football will now have an automatic stoppage with two minutes left in each half.
It’s an interesting change, considering last year’s move to shorten the game by eliminating certain late-game clock stoppage situations.
The previous changes made it easier for a winning team to run down the clock, but this will provide an additional stoppage without a team using a timeout.
“Last year’s change, if you got behind by multiple scores with seven minutes to go in the game, it felt like the clock never stopped. You were really in trouble. I think that’s gonna stay the same with the exception of that one timeout.”
