Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525333
6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he 2024 college football season will kick off at the end of the month, and with it will come a slew of rule changes aimed at making the on-field product more closely resemble the pro game. After all, the NFL is the model for a lot of things these days, especially when it comes to the revenue side. Rule changes for the upcoming sea- son range from the implementation of a two-minute warning at the end of each half to loosening the reins on the number of coaches allowed to work with players throughout the season. The former is self-explanatory, the latter means that the coaching staff has essentially doubled, putting ana- lysts in more key roles. Penn State's Danny O'Brien has gone from analyst to graduate assistant to quarterbacks coach, all the while keep- ing his everyday role fairly unchanged. Former Penn State linebacker and cur- rent defensive analyst Dan Connor will now be able to patrol the sideline and coach up players. Also coming are changes to on-field communication. This college football offseason, the green dot has been the popular focus for those discussing how game-day communication rule changes will alter Saturdays come the fall. The dot, of course, is just a sticker on the helmet that signifies which singular player on the field will get to hear from the coaching staff. The player wearing it will almost exclusively be the quarter- back on offense, while the defense will likely run through a linebacker. Booth- to-sideline-to-field communication isn't new in football; the NFL has been using it for 30 years. Coaches will be able to communi- cate with one player on the field until there are 15 seconds remaining on the play clock. Then, it's up to the player — again, likely the quarterback — to take it from there. The process should streamline what had become a bit of a circus on the sideline in previous years. "I just think, if you look at our col- lege sidelines, they look like clown shows right now," West Virginia head coach Neal Brown told On3's Andy Staples. "Different-colored shirts, a bunch of people. The staff has become so big, and there are people who are just designated to do that. People have real systems. I think we need to clean that up." It's even decently thought out by the NCAA, if that is believable. Coming off the alleged cheating scandal for 2023 national champion Michigan, rules are in place to keep the communication down the middle. If one side goes out, both sides must forfeit use until the problem is solved. Having said that, it won't wipe out teams that are watching the other sideline trying to get an edge. "For us, either way, we're happy with it," James Franklin said in July. "There are some challenges that you have on special teams because you can only have one guy on the field at once with it. On special teams, you have a blend of people on the field, and you could have some changes throughout the game where you end up with two players on the field at the same time. So, you've got to be strategic about that. You've got to be careful. "But I think it's a good rule change. I'm glad it happened, but I think the reason the rule got changed is because of the whole sign-stealing discussion, and I don't really feel like this resolves that whatsoever." New Penn State defensive coordina- tor Tom Allen slipped an Easter egg into his press conference when asked about the rule change in August at Penn State's football media day. While the green dot is getting the shine, it's not necessarily the biggest change in coaches' and players' eyes. "I think the bigger game-day ad- justment is probably going to be hav- ing the iPad on the sideline," Allen said. For the first time this season, Penn State and all coaching staffs will be able to deliver live feedback to their players in the form of in-game video. College staffs will have access to 18 iPads in which live film review can be conducted on the sidelines. It's a potential game-changer ac- cording to those in the know. "Playing eye-level on the field is a different view than what you see from up top," redshirt sophomore quar- terback Beau Pribula said. "It's kind of confirming what you see, or un- derstanding, 'Oh, this is what they're doing.' It's just a huge deal to be able to talk through that on the sideline with the coaches and then ourselves as well." ■ Of the advancements that are coming to college football this fall, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen said the ability to watch game film on the sideline will be the biggest. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL New Technology Will Be Game-Changing JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM