Day, Drinkwitz make decision on use of newly approved helmet communications
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz (left) and OSU head coach Ryan Day (right) discuss their upcoming matchup in the 88th annual Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 29, 2023. Picture by: Andrew Hancock/CFP media.
This past summer, the NCAA finally got off the schneid and decided to approve the ability for coaches to directly communicate with football players while they are on the field. It’s something the NFL has been doing for years but the powers-that-be at the college level have balked at using.
The newly adopted provision stated that teams, however, could not use this technology until the bowl season. Well it’s that time of the year and now coaches have the option of whether or not they want to implement it into their system.
At the Thursday, pre-game press conference leading up to Friday night’s 88th annual Cotton Bowl Classic, both Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz were asked if they were going to jump into the 20th century and give it a go.
Both said no.
“We spoke about this … and I think we both agree … that down the road, it makes a lot of sense," said Day. "But, with everything going on right now, to try and manage a game without having done it all season, we felt like it was probably something we want to have a spring practice and a preseason to work through because the unintended consequences are something new, a new variable."
“Yeah December’s got enough challenges for us to try to figure out how to communicate on the sideline and get the communication in and was just something that didn’t make a lot of sense for us," said Drinkwitz. "Coach Day and I have a good working relationship and made a call and decided that made the most sense for us.”
Ironically, the decision was made by the NCAA in the summer to enable coaches to talk to an offensive player before the current alleged sign-stealing scandal that has embroiled Jim Harbaugh and his Michigan Wolverines.
In October, the NCAA notified the university they were investigating the coaching staff for alleged improprieties into gathering opposing teams’ signs by means of illegal tactics; specifically, doing in-person scouting and using various means of video to gather those signs.
Scouting analyst Connor Stalions was the employee at the center of the allegation as different videos began to leak online and throughout social media of him seen along UM's sidelines eyeballing offensive play calls being made from the OSU sideline during their 2022 game in Ohio Stadium as well as him shooting video during this year's season-opening game between Michigan State and Central Michigan.
In the OSU video, Stalions can be seen intently looking at the Buckeyes while OSU quarterback C.J. Stroud stepped back and looked towards his coaches sending in an audible to change the play. After the call is sent in, Stalions is seen talking directly in the ear of defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, and motioning toward the Buckeye sidelines. A second later, Stalions - along with several other Michigan players - begin jumping up and down with their fingers pointed in the air, signaling to the Wolverine players on the field what they believe the play is going to be.
During the MSU-CMU game, Stalions himself was purportedly caught on video recording the Spartans’ sideline with a pair of sunglasses that had the capability of recording video. The individual that was recorded doing the recording was standing on the Chippewas’ sideline while wearing their school’s gear.
Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain was asked during a press conference after the allegations of Michigan's deceptive ways were brought forth and he said he didn't know who the person was.
That isn't necessarily uncommon for a head coach to not know who everybody is trolling along their own sideline; OSU's sideline is always packed full of high school recruits, their parents, various alumni with special passes, and paid photographers there to shoot for their organization.
It hasn’t been officially confirmed whether or not that individual was Stalions.
He was suspended by the school, with pay, on Oct. 20 and then resigned two weeks later on Nov. 3 after refusing to meet with school officials that same day.
The NFL has been using direct helmet comms with quarterbacks since 1994 and expanded the use to a defensive player in 2008.