Technology continues to make its way into college football but sometimes with mixed results.
Out of the four games, West Virginia has had an issue with the coach-to-player communication in three of those which forced some on-the-fly adjustments.
Unlike when it comes to the headsets that both teams have to be able to use them or none at all, there are no rules for coach-to-player communication, walkie-talkies or the use of the tablets on the sideline.
“So even if yours goes out, the other team can still use theirs,” head coach Neal Brown said. “So what you go into is you just have some backup plans.”
Among those are using walkie-talkies, signaling, or various other methods to avoid hiccups. And while the Kansas game was clean, the Pitt game had issues throughout the entire first quarter as it wasn’t connected correctly and took time to get it operating.
However, the Mountaineers have not experienced any issues with the tablets on the sideline.
The coach-to-player communication is something that West Virginia has used in the past but it’s still taken some adjusting from all involved when it has functioned properly. Linebacker Trey Lathan has adorned the equipment at times and it’s taken some time to get accustomed to it.
“The first day I had it, it was kind of odd, just hearing somebody but then you can’t say something back,” he said.
The microphones are loud, however, so there isn’t any concern over hearing the call. The focus is on the play call but the coaching staff also still signals it to the defense in case it isn’t operating correctly.
“He’s just telling me if somebody needs to scoot up or if we’re running a stunt in the front that he wants to change and he’ll communicate that stuff to me,” Lathan said.
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