Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 7, 2024 15 For what it's worth, Oklahoma was the only team ranked among the top 15 of the final Associated Press poll (Notre Dame ranked 14th) with a fast-paced snap count of less than 25 seconds per play, while national champion Michigan was the only power conference team to average more than 30 seconds in be- tween snaps. As far as total offensive plays per game last season, the Irish with their traditional "huddle" approach averaged 63.4, which ranked only 119th out of 133 FBS schools. How that number will be impacted for Notre Dame this season under new of- fensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and the "helmet comm" technology will be an interesting storyline to track. And, with an experienced and smart quarterback such as senior Riley Leon- ard — a two-year starter at Duke with 27 career appearances there — Denbrock believes this added communication is a valuable tool. Blend helmet comm with a confident and experienced quarterback, and logic suggests the Irish offense can at times get into a no-huddle attack that affords time for Leonard to scan a defense at the line of scrimmage, while Denbrock communicates offensive plays and de- fensive observations in real time. "Getting them the play, and the in- formation as early as you can in the play clock gives them a chance to kind of settle in and get everybody lined up," said Denbrock, whose offense at LSU last season led the nation in scoring (45.5 points per game) and total yards (543.5 yards per game), but surprisingly finished only 105th in total offensive plays per game (65.0). Leonard agrees with Denbrock. "Well shoot, with the extra time you're stealing [to hear from the coach], maybe every play becomes a check play," Leonard explained. "Quarterbacks will be able to have the keys to the car, if you will, in the offense." WHERE'S THE ADVANTAGE? Who benefits most from helmet com- munication remains to be seen while this initiative goes live for the first time. But common sense suggests it will be quarterbacks and offenses. Some staffs will rely on it heavily, while others will use it sparingly, or not at all. Striking that balance will be another challenge for coaching staffs around the country. In an effort to avoid paralysis by over- analysis during this era of the no-hud- dle offense, many offensive coordina- tors have simplified their language and schemes to keep things moving. That may change with helmet comm, according to former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, who believes this new ini- tiative will better allow coaches to di- versify their offenses to put defenses at a greater disadvantage, giving their quar- terbacks more pre-play responsibility, and more freedom to tweak a play call. "Hopefully, some of the coaches will put the [play-calling] onus on these quarterbacks, especially the guys who have played four or five, or in some cases now, six years," Quinn told CBS Sports. "These guys are experienced." When asked during his press confer- ence before Texas A&M, Freeman indi- cated that while on defense, the helmet communication will be solely between Golden and an Irish linebacker, mainly with team captain Jack Kiser. When Kiser is off the field, Freeman explained, multiple Irish linebackers will also be equipped and trained to use a "green dot" communication helmet. "I think all of our linebackers will have the chance, if necessary, to put on a green dot," Freeman said. "There's probably going to have to be a lot of things going on. There could be a lot that occurs in that last 15 seconds, so you have to have answers," said Golden, who spent six seasons using helmet commu- nication as an NFL assistant. "You still have [sideline] signals, but then you're using other ways to communicate with a headset. It's really a collaboration of a lot of different things coming together." Defensive substitutions could also become tricky, because, unlike the of- fenses that rarely sub out a quarterback, defenses continually shuffle personnel based on situations. Even middle linebackers often get subbed out in certain packages, which could unintentionally leave a defense without a wired player on the field. That said, Freeman believes his staff is well equipped to overcome the chal- lenges and maximize the benefits that helmet comm will provide this season. "We've been working on it through- out the spring, and I think we have a really good plan," he said. "I feel really confident about our plan." ✦ "The game has gotten so complex, and there's so much energy trying to conceal, trying to fool, it's time." IRISH DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AL GOLDEN ON HELMET COMMUNICATION Defensive coordinator Al Golden said of helmet communication, "There could be a lot that occurs in that last 15 seconds, so you have to have answers." PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER