What does Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy think of college football technology, rule changes?

STILLWATER — Mike Gundy is never short on opinions.

And this offseason, college football is not short on impactful rule changes.

So the Oklahoma State coach has thoughts on the new technology and guidelines coming to the game this season.

The three most notable rule changes are:

• Two-minute warning time stoppages at the end of each half, like the NFL.
• In-helmet communication devices for a coach to speak to a player on the field.
• Tablets on the sidelines for teams to review in-game video.

Particularly when it comes to using technology, Gundy has been a vocal proponent of improving what is available to college programs. 

He suggested last year the need for an in-helmet communication system amid the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.

Still, he feels college football ventured into the technological advancement a little too softly with its newest change. 

Here’s a look at what Gundy had to say about the three major changes at hand:

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Communication device ‘doesn’t do much’

Following the NFL’s footsteps, college football will allow one player on each side of the ball to have an in-helmet communication device so a coach can speak directly to the player until the play clock reaches 15 seconds.

Gundy is excited to see the communication devices brought in, but he doesn’t believe the guidelines are broad enough to impact the game or stop sign stealing.

“In the NFL, they huddle up on both sides of the ball,” Gundy said. “Colleges don’t huddle up. So one ear piece in one player, in my opinion, doesn’t do much for college football on either side of the ball.

“One guy either has to yell what he hears to everybody, which is not gonna go over good in a big stadium with a college football environment, or you’re back to signaling. So I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I’m just not sure we took the step that’s gonna stop the issues that forced us into this situation.”

Gundy’s solution? Allow teams to use five communication devices at a time. 

“Your quarterback gets one and your skill kids on offense get one,” Gundy said. “Then your quarterback’s always gonna tell the line what to do. 

“On defense, you can give it to two safeties, your corners and one linebacker, and he becomes the quarterback on defense. That’s what I proposed to them, but I’m a process-of-elimination guy who solves problems really easily. I didn’t have to think that through. But they didn’t buy it.”

During spring practice, Gundy used the devices on both sides of the ball. Obviously, the quarterback was the option for the ear piece, but Gundy said the defensive decision was being toyed with. 

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” he said. “We were hoping multiple ear pieces would be allowed. We’ve had the discussion about who gets it. I would guess with most college football teams, it’ll be a linebacker or safety.”

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Tablets a needed upgrade

Again copying the NFL, college football will allow 18 video-capable tablets on each sideline for players and coaches to review video of the current game only.

On NFL television broadcasts, cameras regularly catch players using the handheld tablets on the sideline for a quick review session of the previous series.

“We’re migrating toward the NFL in everything we do,” Gundy said. “With the technology and the two-minute warnings, and paying players, we’re becoming a minor-league system of the NFL is basically what’s happening. Revenue sharing is right around the corner.

“Each position group and multiple other people — whoever they (the NCAA decision-makers) determine can have them — will use (tablets) just like you see in the NFL,” Gundy said. “When I would go watch my boys play high school football, they would come off to the sideline and go watch a 70-inch TV that they had wired up and they could go over their stuff.

“We’re just now getting to a tablet, but we can’t use anything other than just that tablet.”

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Two-minute warning adds strategy

Another idea plucked from the NFL, college football will now have an automatic stoppage with two minutes left in each half.

It’s an interesting change, considering last year’s move to shorten the game by eliminating certain late-game clock stoppage situations. 

The previous changes made it easier for a winning team to run down the clock, but this will provide an additional stoppage without a team using a timeout.

“There is some strategy involved in that,” Gundy said. “When you’re on defense and you’re trying to get the ball back, you’re trying to use your timeouts and force them to use the two-minute warning as another timeout when the offense doesn’t want to. So there’s some strategy that goes into it.

“Last year’s change, if you got behind by multiple scores with seven minutes to go in the game, it felt like the clock never stopped. You were really in trouble. I think that’s gonna stay the same with the exception of that one timeout.”