Who is going to wear the helmet communication device on Texas' defense?
There’s no question that Quinn Ewers will wear the in-helmet communication device for the Texas Longhorns when they have the ball. But who will wear it when the Horns are on defense?
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“I don’t know yet,” Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said Tuesday. He’d follow up with, “it’s going to be a linebacker or a safety.”
On Thursday at Texas’ second practice of the preseason, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and defensive backs Jaylon Guilbeau and Derek Williams entered practice without their helmets, possibly so managers could install the comms devices ahead of the helmets-and-shorts practice session. Hill Jr., who is taking over for Jaylan Ford at Mike linebacker, already has seen a benefit from the additional technology.
“I feel like it’s going to be a big, big thing,” Hill Jr. said Thursday.
While Hill Jr. is the most likely candidate considering most NFL teams give the always-on-the-field linebacker the “green dot,” Texas isn’t limiting its usage to just Hill Jr. during this testing phase.
“We’re actually training multiple players at multiple position groups predicated on the style of offense that we’re playing,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday. “Who is best suited for that game to be the guy that can communicate to the other guys on the field?”
Sarkisian mentioned that in the first week of the season, Texas plays an Air Raid team in Colorado State who goes up-tempo often. It’s likely to be extremely hot on August 31 at 2:30 p.m., too.
“It’s going to be one of the longer days of our guys lives that Saturday,” Sarkisian said.
Then, they play a team in Michigan who Sarkisian mentioned could line up with “seven, eight, nine” offensive linemen.
That diversity of style is why Sarkisian and company are testing multiple players out with the device.
Though Sarkisian has NFL experience, it’s on the offensive side. Sarkisian’s data he gathered from NFL teams is useful, but only to a certain extent for the college game.
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“College football is different than the NFL,” Sarkisian said. “The huddling in the NFL is drastically different than the no-huddle aspect of college football.”
If the device goes to Hill, it will be part of a number of adjustments. Hill Jr. said on Thursday that he didn’t really feel like the light switch turned on for him until the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma State. That was a game where he tallied six total tackles including a sack plus a forced fumble. That was also game No. 13 in a season where Hill Jr. saw action in all 14 contests and started six.
But one of the adjustments involving incorporating the device could prove to be a major positive for when Texas plays on defense at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
“I feel like it’s going to be more helpful at home for us because of how loud the crowd is at home,” Hill Jr. said. “It’s hard for us to communicate sometimes. I think it’s going to be bigger at home than on the road because the crowd is pretty quiet when you’re on defense on the road.”
Considering all the information Hill Jr. provided on Thursday, the odds are that he and the other Mike linebackers will be the ones with the devices in their helmets.
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But Texas will use all the practice time available ahead of the season-opener in order to make that determination.
