Narduzzi Hopes New Helmet Comm Will End Sign-Stealing Paranoia in CFB

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The majority of college football coaches are paranoid about everything, and that sense of paranoia only intensified last season when a signal-stealing scandal consumed the sport for weeks.

Last October, the NCAA launched an investigation into the Michigan football program centered around a low-level staffer, Connor Stallions. The allegations against the Wolverines – who would go onto win the national championship after Stallions was fired in November – was that they sent staffers like Stallions to opponents’ games to record video that would be used to unveil and decode in-game signals and play calls. Multiple Big Ten schools found records of tickets purchased in Stallions’ name. Photos on the internet also suggested that Stallions was on the sidelines for a game between Central Michigan and Michigan State, wearing CMU gear.

Around the time that scandal was unfolding, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi publicly made a suggestion: put a communication system inside the helmet of one player on each side of the ball, like it is in the NFL.

Now, that technological advancement is here.

Back in February, the ACC approved the use of smart tablets and helmet communications. The tablets will have access to in-game video, and two designated players – one on offense and one on defense – will be able to communicate with the sideline. Last December, North Carolina and West Virginia used it in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and UNC coach Mack Brown – despite losing 30-10 to the Mountaineers – called the communications innovation a “win-win.”

Now that the technology is being implemented across the ACC, it is the hope of Narduzzi that it tampers down some of the sign-stealing and paranoia in college football.

“We’re going to eliminate the signal-stealing,” Narduzzi said at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown on Tuesday at ACC Kickoff. “Nobody needs to deal with what we dealt with last year… It’s been going on for years – people stealing signals, filming your sideline, getting it for the next year. It’s not the way college football is supposed to be played. The best team should win, not the team that’s got more people working in the press box.”

After the ACC approved the use of helmet communications, the NCAA’s playing rules oversight committee approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season in April. It was a move that had been discussed for years amongst NCAA rule-makers and coaches, but the push for such technology intensified after the scandal involving Michigan and Stallions.

Similarly to the NFL, a green dot will be placed on the helmet of the players who are equipped with the communication.

While one player on each side of the ball will have direct contact with coaches on the sidelines, Narduzzi believes it’s a tool that will assist offenses much more than defenses.

“I think it’s going to help the offense more than the defense, because (offense) controls the tempo of the game,” Narduzzi said. “We don’t know how fast (an opposing offense) is going to go, so we don’t have time wait around and hope that one linebacker that’s got one earphone can tell everyone what to do.”

Players around the league have already practiced with the communication tool. Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones – who scored five touchdowns against Pitt last season – is already amongst its biggest fans.

“I love it. We worked on it all spring,” Drones said. “It just gives opportunity to look at the defense while calling the play, not looking towards the sideline… Excited to use it throughout the season.”

Likewise, Cal coach Justin Wilcox – entering his first season in the ACC, but eighth coaching the Golden Bears – is a champion for it too. Cal used the headset communication in their Independence Bowl loss to Texas Tech last December.

“I think it’s great,” Wilcox said. “We’ll work on it all throughout fall camp. We’re going to work the tablets in fall camp. You have to be efficient. When you talk about coach to player communication, that can be a very beneficial thing.”

Nate Yarnell, expected to be the starting quarterback for Pitt this fall, got to use the tech for the first time this past spring. He thinks the helmet communication will aide him in executing new offensive coordinator’s Kade Bell’s up-tempo offense.

“I felt really good about it. I really enjoyed using it,” said Yarnell, a redshirt junior. “It’s going to allow us to move even faster.”

Meanwhile, Michigan was never really punished for its alleged sign-stealing, aside from the Big Ten banning Jim Harbaugh from coaching the final three regular season games. Harbaugh left to coach the Los Angeles Chargers after winning the national title, which NCAA President Charlie Baker said the Wolverines won “fair and square.”