How Auburn football is implementing helmet communication and sideline tablets in 2024

For a longtime, offensive-minded college football coach like Hugh Freeze, the idea of changing a key part of offensive operation seems jarring.

“I’m probably going to throw the helmet-to-helmet communication on the ground a few times today just because it’s new to me,” Freeze said before the first practice of fall camp.

Helmet communication has long been a topic of discussion in college football. Now, it’s legal for the first time in 2024, and Auburn plans on taking advantage.

“We’re certainly going to try to use it and find out how you can use it to be advantageous to you,” Freeze said.

The rule change was approved by the NCAA in April, giving college football a similar communication system to the NFL.

While helmet communication had been a topic for years, but the talk gained traction following the investigation into Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing system.

Teams can also use tablets to review in-game video starting in 2024.

The basics

• College football teams are allowed to have coach-to-player communication through the helmet to one player on the field.
• The communication will cut off when the play clock hits 15 seconds or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.
• A green dot on the back of the player’s helmet will identify who is using the helmet communication.
• If there is a complete and total system failure with one team, the other team is required to turn off their helmet communication.
• Up to 18 tablets can be distributed on the sidelines, in the locker rooms and in the coaching booths.
• Tablets can’t be connected to other devices such as a larger surface or screen.

How Auburn is using this technology

Like many programs, Auburn plans to make use of both new technologies in 2024.

Offensively, it’ll likely be the quarterback with the communication in his helmet, but defensively, Auburn Director of Football Equipment Tyler Renard said they’re still working through who will have the helmet communication.

Auburn will designate five players on each side of the ball before each game to have the helmet communication. Offensively, barring an injury to the starting quarterback, the player who has it on the field likely won’t change.

Managing who has the communication on defense is more challenging.

“With the defense, it’s something we’re working through,” Renard said Monday. “We’ve got to have two helmets for every guy defensively that is going to be designated in one of these and making sure we’re aware of personnel changes and all that type of stuff going on the field.”

With more regular rotation on defense, making sure only one player on the field has helmet communication is more of an emphasis.

Renard also assured that they’re prepared in case of a helmet communication malfunction.

“Not only will Payton [Thorne] have one, it’s his primary one with communications in it, but also on the sideline, we will have a backup helmet that is built for him that has a communications unit in it as well,” Renard said.

“If something were to go haywire, instead of trying to sit there and fiddle with the helmet and figure out what’s wrong, we can just take the one that already we know is working, his backup communication helmet, toss that to him and then go identify and fix the problem.”

All of Auburn’s quarterbacks have been using the helmet communication during practice and Renard said the response from them has been good.

“It’s a new part of football, and it’s something that is going to prepare them for the next level as well,” Renard said.

The new technology could change how many teams run their offense in college football.

One big difference between college football and the NFL as it pertains to pre-snap communication is how often teams huddle.

Huddling is far more common in the NFL, but with the new technology more college teams could huddle more.

“It wouldn’t shock me if you see more teams getting in the huddle because it really doesn’t change anything if you’re not in the huddle,” Freeze said on what the technology means for offenses. “You still have to signal into the receivers and other people if you’re a no-huddle team.”

Despite his expected frustration with helmet communication at the start of fall camp, Freeze felt more confident in how Auburn would use the tablets.

“Now that analysts can be a part of the instruction process, that certainly helps where they’re having the tablets that are tagging plays in the series where there’s not a lot of wasted time,” Freeze said.

Auburn has used the tablets during practices at Jordan-Hare Stadium with positive results, according to Auburn Director of Football Technology and Digital Innovation Matt Hard.

The tablets will get three different angles of game footage, those being the sideline, the endzone and the TV copy.

The SEC has a partnership with Apple, meaning Auburn is using iPads as its tablets. Outside of just reviewing the footage, the iPads have drawing tools a whiteboard feature.

” It’s almost like having a position meeting after every single drive in game,” Hard said.