College football will officially be adding a helmet communications system and a two-minute warning at the end of each half after the rules changes were approved by the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel.
One player on the field will be able to have the system in their helmet, and that player will be identifiable by a green dot on the midline of their helmet. The communication system will be shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock, or at the snap of the ball, whichever of the two comes first.
The NCAA first proposed the rule change in March, even though it had been talked about for years as a possible change, and it comes after a season in which Michigan was busted for an alleged sign stealing system it used for multiple years.
The new two-minute warning will work similarly to how the NFL’s does. The timeouts, however, won’t be additional television timeouts.
Another rule approved is that teams will have the option to use tablets to view in-game video, getting up to 18 tablets that can be distributed between the sideline, locker room and coaches’ booths. The tablets are not allowed to be connected to other devices, project larger images or provide data and analytics.
One final rule change approved is that horse-collar tackles inside the tackle box will result in a 15-yard penalty when previously, no penalty was called on those tackles.
