What you need to know about college football’s new helmet communication rules

Think of it as a high-stakes game of telephone.

You may have noticed the rise of college football quarterbacks donning their helmets to muffle the sounds of the nation’s loudest stadiums. That’s because coach-player helmet communication has arrived this season for all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision programs.

Thirty years after the NFL debuted the technology, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April approved the use of helmet communications (as well as sideline tablets) for FBS teams, following a trial period in last season’s bowl games.

Here’s how it works.

Who has access to helmet communication and how does it work?

For each team, one player on the field – one on offense and one on defense – can have helmet communication. On offense, that player is usually the quarterback.

The designated player, as in the NFL, is identified by a green dot on the back of his helmet. If more than one green dot per team is detected on the field by the referees, the team will be penalized with a 5-meter equipment violation penalty, which will automatically initiate a conference review, according to the NCAA.

The conference review would investigate whether teams intentionally allowed a second green dot helmet into the game at the same time. The review would take place in the days after the game and any additional discipline would be up to the conference, an NCAA source with knowledge of the review process said.

On the sidelines, each team is limited to three coach-to-player caller radios and belt packs. Presumably, teams assign these to the head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator.

Helmet communication between coach and player will be disabled after 15 seconds of the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first, and will remain disabled during the down. When the playback clock is reset to 25 or 40 seconds, communication is restored. (The play clock is set to 25 seconds after a penalty, charged team time-out, media time-out or injury time-out for an offensive player and 40 seconds after a play ends or after an injury time-out for a defensive player.)

The cutoff operator is hired, assigned and managed by each conference.

When playing free kicks, communication between coach and player is not in effect.

Each team may use a maximum of 23 regular headsets within the team room, coaches box or coaches cabin. Each team personnel can wear one, and technicians use two additional headsets to monitor the system and troubleshoot any technical issues.

Is helmet communication between coach and player mandatory?

USC coach Lincoln Riley reviews a tablet on the sideline against LSU on Sept. 1 at Allegiant Stadium. (Photo: Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

No. The technology is optional, as is the use of tablets to view in-game video, including broadcast feeds, All-22 sideline and end zone angles.

A team can use helmet communication even if the opponent does not. If a team chooses not to use the technology or rely entirely on it, a coach can communicate with the QB through the traditional methods of sideline signs and hand signals.

However, if one team’s communications stop working, the other team must also stop using helmet communications.

What happens when an FBS team plays an FCS team?

Helmet communications are not permitted at the Football Championship subdivision level, but FCS teams can use the technology when playing against an FBS opponent.

North Dakota State did this when it opened its season against Colorado in Week 1. Bison offensive coordinator Jake Landry said in August that the one-game adjustment would still be “a learning curve” for the team, which fell to the Buffaloes 31-26.

“How much is too much information?” Landry said: according to 247Sports. ‘How much do you want to know? What little tidbits can we provide?”

Major, according to Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

This offseason, Georgia QB1 said he “loves” that offensive coordinator Mike Bobo can talk in his ear “because there might be a little cue he could say before a play, like watch this coverage or watch this, if they do this, do this – just like little things.”

Advantages versus disadvantages

Michigan staffers on the sidelines of last year’s championship game. College teams have long used signs – some unorthodox – to communicate plays to the team on the field. (Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

A coach can do more than tell his QB what action to make. Helmet communications can also be used for bigger picture reminders of time, down and situation and when it’s time to take a risk or play it safe.

Another big benefit is what it could help minimize: sign stealing.

The use of electronic equipment to record or “steal” opposing players’ signals is not legal in college football. The NCAA also prohibits in-person scouting of prospective opponents off campus during the same season. An alleged scheme at Michigan involving the latter led to an NCAA investigation last year.

But on the field, personally stealing signs is allowed. Former Michigan QB JJ McCarthy estimated that “80 percent” of college football teams steal signs, “which is legal,” he said in January.

GO DEEPER

‘That’s as big as it gets’: How much does knowing an opponent’s signals matter?

Teams haven’t stopped using side signals. But move some of that communication to the helmet, and you can eliminate (or at least reduce) its interception, right?

“Sign stealing happens every game,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said in March. “There’s nothing wrong with teams looking around and trying to steal our signs. There is nothing wrong with trying to look for their signals. That’s why you should have microphones in the helmets.”

Coach Rhule discusses the sign stealing and whether he noticed it when they vs. #Michigan 👀 pic.twitter.com/NsZQDtXNY3

— 247Huskers (@247Huskers) October 23, 2023

The enemy of helmet communication between coach and player is, ironically, noise. College games “just tend” to be louder than NFL games, said Rhule, who coached the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2022.

“Generally speaking, the level of loudness of the fans in a stadium has a big impact on the game,” Rhule told reporters after Nebraska’s Week 1 win over UTEP. “It’s not just ‘It’s third, let’s try to get them to jump offside’ anymore, it’s also ‘Make it very difficult for them to hear the play calls and the checks’, because it was difficult for us at times .”

While helmet communication is useful, it is imperfect. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said the team is preparing for alternative solutions as it heads into a hostile road environment in Georgia on Saturday. The Tigers played their first five games of the season at home.

“We make it loud during training that they are having a hard time communicating and seeing how they deal with it,” Freeze said, according to AL.com. “We have alternate plans on how we’re going to do play-calling, or whatever it takes to make sure our kids at least have a good understanding of what’s about to happen.”

Required reading

(Photo: James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)