Lane Kiffin, the head football coach for Mississippi, was first opposed to it. Dabo Swinney, the head instructor at Clemson, is anticipating it. Arizona State manager Kenny Dillingham thinks “it’s like cheating”. And Carson Beck, the Georgia player? He may have liked to have had it the previous month.
The NCAA, for the first time, is letting teams use modern tablets to record in-game images on the sidelines this period, and despite the conflicting opinions, there’s a general consensus: The innovative tech may have a real impact on Saturdays.
Both players and coaches concurred that their game strategies will probably need to get more complicated or be completely disregarded. No more bringing the same pair blitzes on fourth down, for example. Assistants, however, will have to figure out how best to use their new training equipment. Fast.

In April, the NCAA approved innovative tech laws allowing for coach-to-player radio connections as well as up to 18 effective devices for use in the training hall, side and locker-room places. Unlike the NFL, where only however images are visible, school teams will be able to view videos from corner, end zone and transmit camera feeds. However, they wo n’t be able to view previous scouting data and player analytics.
Most teams will still be figuring things out after this Saturday’s year kickoff, though some groups tested different versions of the technology last year during bowl games.
When the rules were passed, events lined up their own set of lovers. While the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC have all adopted Apple’s mobile product line, some have followed the NFL’s prospect by adding Microsoft Surface products. Many teams are using DVSport Rewind systems to power the displays. The SEC, however, has tapped Catapult, a performance analysis system currently used by most superstar programs ( and NFL teams ) for person assessments in training.
“95 % of Division I… teams use our solution to manage coaches ‘ video six days a week,” said Catapult’s chief product officer Matt Bairos. ” The sixth day was definitely missing”.
Here’s how the SEC’s program works. One for each team will be able to download video from a main hub to two personal sites. Catapult has hired nearly 50 gameday technicians ( three per venue ) to help implement the procedure.
Acts are broken up and tagged to be reviewed in accordance with the situation, assisting side coaches in finding the best videos to demonstrate people. Apple Pencils will be accessible for telestration and staff members can further flag specific instances for sideline discussion. System speed was a priority, Bairos said, ensuring plays are quickly chopped and sent to coaches, where they can break down the details with players.

Vanderbilt players have tested the new tech in practice. ( Courtesy Catapult )

Former Temple, Boston College and Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio—now an ESPN analyst—has long been in favor of adding the tech.

” I love it”, he said. ” When I was active in this stuff, that’s what I know I wanted the most”.
Addazio was previously forced to rely on upstairs assistants to report what they saw to him. Every time you try to draw it on a grease board and try to reconstruct it, there is error as you go through each play.
And he does n’t worry about players and coaches adopting a new process. ” It’s just easy”, Addazio said. ” You’re just watching the replays”.
The iPads feature a new, “nano-texture glass” screen (typically a$ 100 upgrade option ) for increased visibility in the Southern sun, and they’ll be stored in custom-built carts similarly adapted for hot environments. Post-game, the sliced-up footage can be immediately distributed to coaches and players with additional notes, grades and subjective information. Additionally, medical professionals will have in-game access to aide with the identification and treatment of injuries.
LSU was one of the institutions that the system was being tested by last year’s 35-31 victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
LSU coach Brian Kelly stated in a statement that the real-time video provided by Catapult made better decisions throughout the game and communicated these decisions to our players.
More data is likely to be incorporated into the system over time, such as player wearable statistics and specific play calls. As that happens, Bairos anticipates that the video staff, who was once focused on camera maintenance and VCR tuning, will be more in line with the traditional coaching staff. On tomorrow’s coaching iPads, it’s not hard to imagine Madden-like fatigue charts and opponent weak spot charts popping up.
A million data points are transmitted back to the pits every second, and artificial intelligence is used to make strategic decisions, making coaches ‘ booths not entirely transform into Formula 1 garages. But it’s hard to envision college football turning back, either.
According to Bairos,” I believe it just adds that much more interesting, exciting, and challenging” aspects of the game.
Now it’s on the coaches to keep up.