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Nick Saban has made his case for having in-helmet radios in college football.
The topic of radios in helmets has been a major talking point across college football in light of the Michigan sign-stealing saga, and many coaches have weighed in.
On the Pat McAfee Show Thursday, Saban made a strong case for in-helmet radios that would eliminate the possibility of signs being stolen.
Saban believes if players were able to use radios in their helmets, it would cut out all the confusion that comes with using signs and signals.
“There’s no reason you can’t just tell the quarterback what the play is rather than having signs and signals and 3 people signaling and all this stuff trying to get the play,” Saban said. “Which is more difficult for the players, incidentally, because they’ve all gotta get the sign because everybody’s going no huddle.”
It would also help the defense when offenses run no huddles or move fast because rather than having to look to the sideline to figure out the play, it could just be communicated to a player via in-helmet radios.
“And for the defensive players that are going against the fastball team, all 11 guys gotta know the signals, all 11 guys gotta know the signs,” Saban said. “Cause they’re going fast and you can’t communicate rather than just being able to tell somebody this is the call. That would clean up all this.”
While there are concerns about allowing in-helmet radios because some schools don’t have the same funds and resources, Saban believes that in leagues like the SEC, B1G and other Power 5s, it should be allowed.
“There’s such a discrepancy, we shouldn’t be living by the same rules,” Saban said.
