Josh Heupel shares plan to use headset, prepare for issues

Helmet communication is here in college football, making for an interesting dynamic between offensive-minded coaches like Josh Heupel at Tennessee and their starting quarterbacks.

With Fall Camp starting up, Heupel shared the plan for how Tennessee will use the headsets and is preparing for potential issues with the technology that could arise.

“Quarterbacks get tired of hearing us in the headsets,” Josh Heupel said. “But it’s unique. You’ve got to plan for it. You’ve got to be ready if it goes out too. At times there’s issues that occur with headsets. You got to pre-plan that too. So, it’s an opportunity. It’s a tool to use. We’re trying to be intentional about how we do that on both sides of the ball and at the same time got to be ready to operate without it.”

The NFL has had some kind of headset communication for decades now, giving college a model to base the rule on. Coaches will be able to talk to one player on the field at a given time, with their ability to speak in the headset getting shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock or when the ball is snapped.

For an offense like Josh Heupel’s that operates rapidly, that’s more than enough time to speak to the quarterback and help communicate pre-snap. That’s especially useful in a season when the Volunteers turn to Nico Iamaleava as a first season starting quarterback.

Heupel further went on to explain that he and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle will communicate with the offense while Tim Banks, the team’s defensive coordinator, will take care of his side of the ball.

“Offensively, Joey and myself. Defensively it will be Coach Banks.”

Tennessee still needs to get more experience using the headsets to feel entirely comfortable. That’s something that Josh Heupel says the team is going to work on during scrimmages ahead of the season.

“Don’t believe, we haven’t actually had like the true game day set,” Heupel said. “You know what I mean? But we should have that fully operational as we go to scrimmage.”

Josh Heupel details how Nico Iamaleava has been able to earn the trust of his teammates

Having a first-year quarterback can be difficult. Luckily, for the Volunteers, Josh Heupel has already seen Nico Iamaleava earn the trust of his teammates.

“Yeah, if you were a five-star quarterback we’d be more concerned about that diva mentality than we were with Nico. I think it’s been really a big part of how the players have responded to him. The guy that came in here wanted to earn it, went to work every single day, has developed great relationships with the guys on his side of the ball, but on the other side of the ball as well,” Heupel said.

“Will continue to grow as a leader, but how he works, how he competes, coming out and earning it, his consistency in who he is every day inside the building has been a huge part of the trust, love and belief that our players have in him.”