CLEMSON -- Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter was one of those kids who watched NFL games, wondering what it'd be like to have play calls barked through an earpiece in his helmet.
Thanks to a NCAA rule change, the senior didn't have to wait until he reached the next level to experience the tech. When Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin speaks calmly, he comes through nice and clear.
"When he yells, I can barely hear a thing," Carter said. "It just sounds like it's pretty muffled."
As the Tigers venture into this new world of instant communication in college football, they have had to work out some kinks. Not only the volume in which they need to speak into their headsets, but how much should even be said.
Clemson Tigers Sports Clemson's Dabo Swinney recalls Head Ball Coach's call after opening loss By Jon Blau [email protected]
Goodwin, in his excitement, might see where Clemson's defense has a numbers advantage versus an opposing formation, but Carter only has so much time to get himself and everyone else lined up.
Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley might see linebackers showing blitz, a single-high safety shading to one side, or cornerbacks backing off press coverage. But quarterback Cade Klubnik still has to go through his reads.
"It's definitely been something we've been talking about," Klubnik said, "in a sense of, what's too much?
"At the end of the day, I gotta go play quarterback. And if somebody's telling you to go do something, and they're telling you 50 different things to go do while you're doing it, that's a lot."
Coach-to-player communication shuts off when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock. In most cases, that leaves 25 seconds for their mics to be live.
But the Tigers are trying to be "efficient," Klubnik said, in their communications.
Luckily for Klubnik, he has a pretty laid-back coordinator in Riley, who was a quarterback himself at Texas Tech and Stephen F. Austin. He doesn't want to overwhelm Klubnik with too much information.
"If you got a coach talking to him every second that you're allowed to be on the headset, at the end of the day, does that make him more cloudy than not from a decision making standpoint?" Riley said. "There's gonna be a fine line with that. But, certainly, something that, if you use it the right way, it can be a big bonus."
A mega-opener against preseason No. 1 Georgia will be Clemson's first opportunity to take their headset-to-helmet technology into a game.
Sports Hamilton: Dabo not taking calls isn't Tyler's fault By Scott Hamilton [email protected]
For Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, he just wonders why it took so long for the NCAA to allow helmet communications in college football. The tech arrives at the same time as tablets and live replays on the sideline, which have been utilized at the high school level for several years now.
Today's Top Headlines
Story continues below
Popular brewery to close its Charleston taproom, but it's not going away completely 2 SC deaths may be linked to a national contaminated deli meat outbreak Oceanside football coach on resignation: 'Had to be done' Former Columbia mayoral candidate in jail on child sexual assault charges has history of abuse Local restaurants are closing and chains are opening in Columbia. What's driving the trend? Newport News Shipbuilding parent acquiring SC metal fabricator W International A chicken plant was to be built on a property north of Aiken. Instead, a subdivision will be built there. 'Southern Charm' stars, Share House owners finalizing touches on new Charleston tavern Greenville's new wizarding bar popped up in less than a week. Just like magic. Opposition mounts against Kamala Harris 'roast' event with Proud Boys founder at USC campus
If anything, putting a communication device in a player's helmet simplifies the process of relaying a play call. As no-huddle offenses have become more popular, teams have relied on signals from the sideline, on giant cards which opposing teams frequently attempt to code-break.
There will still be signals from the sideline when offenses try to play fast. But there will also be opportunities to slow the pace with old-school huddles at the line of scrimmage, allowing Klubnik to relay the play call himself.
"I think we'll use it every play," Swinney said. "To me, it's not as much an advantage to signal from the sideline."
But the Tigers will still go no-huddle at times.
"It'll be a mixture," Riley said. "We've got kind of a whole gamut of operations and stuff on how we can get a play call in and all those sort of things."
Klubnik said it's pretty simple shifting from taking play calls in his helmet, bringing that into a huddle, and going back to signals from the sideline when playing uptempo. Clemson has practiced both scenarios this preseason.
The junior quarterback has also had plenty of conversations with Riley about what information helps, and what doesn't. Klubnik even talked with one of his mentors, fellow Westlake High alum and former NFL quarterback Nick Foles, about striking that balance with a coordinator.
"He's done a great job of kind of not over-flooding me, but also giving me information when I need," Klubnik said of Riley. "I've kind of just communicated honestly about how I kind of want stuff presented to me."
Most of the time, it will be just Klubnik and Carter taking those calls, because the NCAA is only allowing one player with a green dot on their helmet -- signifying they are equipped with an earpiece -- to be on the field at one time.
Clemson Tigers Sports Can Clemson get back to the playoffs? Georgia will test Tigers' readiness. By Jon Blau [email protected]
Offensively, each of Clemson's quarterbacks will have a green dot. Backing up Carter defensively will be freshman linebacker Sammy Brown, which speaks to just how much of Clemson's defensive scheme the five-star recruit has been able to absorb since his arrival in January.
"You can't just give a mic to anybody on the field," Carter said. "For him to be a young guy coming in, hasn't even played a real snap of college football yet, I think it's just a testament to how hard he's worked."
It's a pretty cool reward, to be gifted a helmet with communication tech.
As long as the coach on the other end isn't too excited.
"I think it's going to be very helpful for this season and, you know, for years to come," Carter said. "I'm excited for it."