HawgBeat - Bobby Petrino to call plays from sideline in 2024
Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino is adjusting to using the new in-helmet communication system in 2024.
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Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino confirmed Tuesday that he will call plays from the sideline rather than up in the coaches booth.
One of the newest changes in college football is the use of in-helmet communication between coaches on the sidelines and players on the field, Petrino said he is adjusting to it ahead of the 2024 season.
Petrino said Tuesday that even though he has experience with the communication system from his stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2001) and Atlanta Falcons (2007) in the NFL, there’s still some growing pains using it in 2024.
“I think I’m still learning about it right now, because the first couple weeks it really wasn’t a lot of fun,” Petrino said. “It was a headache doing all that. Shut this off, let’s shut that off, and we’re not the only ones that are having to deal with those type of problems because you have to be hooked up to two different things, one for the quarterback, one for the staff. So, there’s some work to be done.”
The new communications system allows for one player on the offense — presumably the quarterback — and one on the defense to hear from the coaches until there are 15 seconds left in the play clock.
Technology isn’t perfect, though. Things break down and go out all the time, so the Arkansas coaches still need to be prepared for what to do if something fails.
“We need to be ready for, probably not if it goes out in a game, but when it goes out,” Petrino said. “We need to be ready for it and be able to handle it when it happens.”
The Arkansas coaches have used in-helmet communication throughout fall camp and during the two scrimmages they held inside Razorback Stadium. The difference between using it on the practice field and in the stadium is that the headset shuts off automatically in the stadium.
“That's probably the biggest challenge, and really knowing how much you can give the quarterback or how much you can help the quarterback,” Petrino said. “And I don't feel like we've had that much experience on that because just the two scrimmages in the stadium is when it really clicks off. In practice, I just do it myself.”
The helmet communication also forces Petrino to be on the sideline rather than in the booth, which was a question mark when he was hired at Arkansas because he was in the booth last season at Texas A&M.
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“You’ve got the clicker now where you can talk to the quarterback in the earpiece and can’t do that from upstairs,” Petrino said. “I thought about it. I kind of liked it last year upstairs and calling the game and being away from all the elements down there, but I didn’t like not being able to see the quarterback’s eyes and how they were reacting and what was going on on the sideline. So I think it’s the right decision to be down (on the field).”
In-helmet communications should, in theory, cut down on sign-stealing by the Razorbacks’ opponents. Michigan drew the ire of many college football fans after they were accused of it in 2023, but Petrino said it's not just one team that does it — everyone does.
“One of the biggest benefits that it will have in college football today is huddling and the defense not knowing what’s coming,” Petrino said. “I remember when the Houston Astros had that big deal about stealing signs; that crap’s been going on in college football for a long time. This gives you an advantage offensively by huddling and not having to signal anything.”
The Arkansas Razorbacks are just nine days away from the start of the season, a Week 1 tilt against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on August 29. That game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST and stream on ESPN+.
