How South Carolina’s defense is using new helmet communication technology

Big changes are always happening in college football.

One of the latest came in April when the NCAA approved a rule change to allow one player on defense and one on offense to have a radio in their helmet to communicate with their coaches. These players will be labeled with a green dot for officials.

And communication will cut off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock or when the ball is snapped (whichever happens first).

South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said he began using this new technology during spring ball and has worked with it in every preseason practice over the last two-and-a-half weeks.

“Nothing worse than getting cut off at 15 seconds when I’m trying to get a last coaching point in,” White lamented with a laugh. He added he’s gotten more used to the time restraint with more reps.

“It’s fun. It’s really good for us right now.”

Who will wear the helmet communications during games is still to be determined. White said he’s had a different player try it every day to get a feel for who’s the best at relaying his message to the rest of the defense. When discussing position battles, White said they try to stay away from “who, what, depth chart and all that kind of stuff” in order to keep players together as long as possible.

CBS Sports spoke with a number of college football coaches and former players about helmet communication implementation in May. Most coaches said a linebacker would most likely use the technology because of his relative position to the defensive line and secondary.

That means 2023 first team All-SEC LB Debo Williams, Bangally Kamara, Demetrius Knight and Bam Martin-Scott are all strong candidates for USC. White said the plan is to sometimes have three of them on the field at one time, sometimes two or even just one.

When asked who he anticipates will play next to Williams this season, White said the following will be key:

“Just staying strong, understand how your role is and doing a great job at your role when you’re in there.”