How Auburn can benefit from new communication technology this season

Perhaps the biggest positive of Auburn’s new communications system is that Hugh Freeze hasn’t launched the headset across the sideline yet.

Coaches across college football will have to learn some new in-game routines this season, with the introduction of helmet communication technology in the sport, and tablets for coaches to immediately study film on the sidelines. Auburn went through three test runs of the equipment during the preseason and will hope things run smoothly when the season kicks off Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Hugh Freeze said Monday that things have worked efficiently for the most part. He still has to lock down some muscle memory on which buttons to push and when — already with his hands full with the Tigers’ play sheet. Coaches can communicate via radio with one player on each side of the play — designated by a green dot on the helmet — until 15 seconds remain on the play clock. Freeze will obviously get first dibs on talking to quarterback Payton Thorne, but other coaches can chime in when he’s done.

Offensive coordinator Derrick Nix and quarterbacks coach Kent Austin will oversee things from up in the box, while analyst Jesse Stone will be down on the field to relay messages in person. Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin prefers to coach from the field. 

For Freeze, one of the biggest adjustments has been trying not to overload Thorne before the play. It’s a useful tool to ensure the play call is heard loud and clear, but Freeze has obviously found himself wanting to relay as much information as he can. The 15-second cutoff dinged him a few times during the Tigers’ mock game at the stadium over the weekend.

“He’s trying to get the protection set, and I’m trying to talk through the whole dang play,” Freeze said. “… I’ve got to be careful to tell him what I think quickly without too much information.”

In addition to the helmet radios, 15 tablets will be distributed to the team, and it’s the coaches’ decision to decide how many will remain on the sideline, and how many will go up to the box. Auburn’s equipment team receives plays two seconds after they end, and that data can be added to the coaches’ tablets almost immediately, so it will only take a few seconds to have access to a prior play. A coach from the box will be able to tag plays with specific labels so a coach on the field can quickly identify and show to a player.

Freeze doesn’t anticipate he’ll have time to get a look at a tablet and in-game film until halftime, where he wants important plays or mistakes pointed out and ready to address with those respective players.

“That’s a good change,” Freeze said. “We’ve got screens put up in there (the locker room) now to where you can just plug it in and have things tagged that didn’t go well … instead of hand-writing on a whiteboard.”

As the staff has gotten more reps with the equipment, Freeze wonders if he could use the communication with a bit of in-game strategy as he gets more comfortable. If the Tigers do go into a huddle — which is obviously not a given considering their up-tempo approach — he teased the idea of relaying the play to Thorne, but not breaking the huddle until under 15 seconds on the play clock. That’s when communications will shut off for the defense, too. So the first time the defenders are seeing the formation, their defensive coordinator won’t be able to talk to the middle linebacker, or whoever has the green dot.

“Defensive coaches like to call defenses off the picture,” Freeze said. “If you’re not giving them the picture until under 15 (seconds), they’re forced to signal.”

Of course, defensive coaches have always been able to make pre-snap adjustments without radios — and that’s something Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin anticipates will still be the most prominent method of getting calls from the sideline. Having one player on defense receiving chatter from the coaches — without huddling, in a noisier setting at home — is a lot different than the quarterback relaying a message. The helmet comms will be a nice benefit, but Durkin doesn’t expect Auburn’s defense to rely upon it.

“We don’t play any offenses that huddle — 90 percent of the time,” Durkin said. “We can’t huddle ourselves because then they’re going to be snapping the ball and you’re not lined up and ready. … At the end of the day, a lot of the communication is going to be the same.”

Auburn had a couple hiccups with the equipment over the weekend, but as Auburn’s equipment team explained this preseason, if the communication system goes down for one team at any point, it will also be shut down for the other team until things are remedied.

“I sure hope that’s not going to be the case Saturday night,” Freeze said. “I mean, they quickly got it fixed, but it was two plays.”

Auburn’s coaches will get their first crack at the new-look operation against Alabama A&M on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. CST, ESPN+).

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