Why Oklahoma's Brent Venables Believes New Sideline Technology Will Provide 'Competitive Advantage'

Oklahoma's Brent Venables believes in-helmet communication devices will provide a big boost to offenses this fall.

Oct 28, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables watches play against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — College football sidelines will undergo a noticeable change this season. 

Much like in the NFL, there will be an influx of new technology available to players and coaches alike this fall. 

Over the offseason, both in-helmet communication devices and the use of tablets were approved.

The introduction of radios in helmets was likely spurred by the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, but it’s been widely used in the the NFL for years. 

Each team will be able to have one player on offense and defense with the device on the field, and the radio will switch off with 15 seconds left on the play clock. 

Coaches and coordinators will be able to communicate better than ever before with their players, typically the quarterback, but there’s a new balance they’ll have to learn to strike. 

“Sometimes… too much communication can be a bad thing, too,” OU coach Brent Venables said last week at SEC Media Days. “And so you'll find that balance as a program and as a player. Some players will receive it better than others. 

“But it can be a real competitive advantage to me offensively to be able to be in the ear of the quarterback 15 seconds prior to snapping the ball.”

Certain bowl games piloted the new technology last year, but Oklahoma didn’t implement any new wrinkles during the Alamo Bowl to try and make Jackson Arnold’s first start at quarterback as normal as possible. 

Arnold and new OU play caller Seth Littrell quickly got to work getting adjusted to the new system this spring, and Arnold already feels comfortable with the new method of getting the plays in. 

“It was special,” Arnold said of the adjustment last week. “Knowing that’s what the NFL guys do, and just we didn’t have that last year, and really transitioning to that this year was helpful for me in the spring in the offense, because not only could Coach Littrell tell me the plays and speed up the tempo, but he can also give me tips and reminders maybe about my read or certain coverages.”

Teams won’t totally abandon signals to huddle up, but Arnold said he’s fully locked in to the information coming from the sideline. 

“We still do look at signals, but now I honestly just stopped looking at the signals,” Arnold said. “I kind of just listen to Coach Littrell in my head.”

Another benefit will be the use of video from previous drives getting uploaded to tablets. 

The SEC struck a deal with Apple to get iPads on the sidelines in 2024, something Venables hopes will streamline adjustments drive-to-drive. 

“I think it's a great resource,” Venables said. “I think making sure — you have very limited amount of time to coach through these moments on the sideline. It'll be useful in some ways, and you just want to make sure that it's not distracting in other ways.”

Arnold said he hasn’t yet utilized mowing through film on the sideline yet, but he thinks it will be a much more efficient method to review and adjust than the old method. 

“Last year we had, instead of being iPads, we had a sheet where you’d write down the coverages run on each play,” he said. 

As he takes on his first season as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, Arnold is confident he’ll be able to make better changes on the fly with the new technology that was implemented over the offseason. 

“You can only envision so much when you’re tired after a series,” Arnold said. “So, having the iPad and seeing it is going to be super helpful for us.”