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Count Florida football coach Billy Napier as a fan of the new FBS rule allowing in-helmet communication beginning this season.
Napier has tested the technology throughout fall camp, including Saturday’s first Florida Gators fall scrimmage.
“It’s going pretty well,” Napier said. “We’ve worked at it quite a bit. I think we’ve done a ton of research. It’s definitely a game-changer. It’s going to change college football for sure.”
The rule allows for one player on each side of the ball to have a radio inside his helmet. Communication will be shut off with 15 seconds before the end of the 40-second play clock, or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.
“There’s quite a bit of time left when the play (call) is done,” Napier said. “I think it’s a big deal. There’s going to be a ton of strategy around it.
“It’s not just the quarterback. It’s the signal caller on defense, too. I’m listening, ‘OK, play’s in,’ talking to the linebacker. You can set the front. You can set the close call. You can set the pass strength. You can talk alerts, hey, run/pass. And then it turns off on you.”
Napier said he’s seen the communication benefit freshman quarterback D.J. Lagway in his development.
“He’s been playing great,” Napier said. “Trusting it. I think just having that added coaching point when it’s not just you on the line getting to [the] play: OK, what’s my job here? You get the extra coaching point: OK, this is my read. This is my progression. This is my check that we have on a certain play. It’s been great for him.”
Starting Florida quarterback Graham Mertz said it would have been nice to have coming up as a young quarterback. As a redshirt freshman starter for Wisconsin in 2020, Mertz recalled having to memorize a 20-word signal before the start of the play.
“You might…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fbs-helmet-rule-benefitting-florida-080528737.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2024-08-15 08:05:28
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