COLUMBUS, Ohio — In-helmet communication has been a new and helpful tool in college football this year, allowing coaches to speak directly with a player on the field.
At Ohio State, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly can send plays to quarterback Will Howard from the press box rather than needing to relay signals.
However, coach Ryan Day has had to, at times, relay a tough message back to his offensive coordinator.
The in-helmet communication shuts off when the play clock gets within 15 seconds. In the NFL, there’s a noise that indicates that checkpoint.
That isn’t the case in college.
“Sometimes I’m up on the clock and just trying to make sure Chip knows, ‘Hey, you’re inside of 15. You might be talking to him, but he’s not listening,’” Day said Thursday during his weekly radio show.
Ohio State doesn’t strictly rely on the in-helmet communication to relay messages to all 11 players on the field.
Depending on whether OSU is huddling or not, signals are still an option to get the play in.
That can change each drive, but before it begins, Kelly notifies his team how the plays will be relayed from the coaches to players.
“Chip calls that every day in practice just like he would in a game,” Day said. “He has the headset on for every single practice, so we go through that.”
Day said that routine is especially important as Ohio State prepares for its first road test of the season on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Peacock) against Michigan State.
“(Thursday) is a big day for that because it’ll be loud Saturday night, so we’ve got to do a good job communicating,” Day said.
