Saban downplays indication stealing, touts headsets

• Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff WriterDec 31, 2023, 01:13 PM ET

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  • Covers the SEC.Joined ESPN
  • in 2012.
  • Graduate of Auburn University.LOS ANGELES– Alabama

coach Nick Saban said he isn’t worried about the possibility of Michigan taking indications throughout the Rose Championship game provided by Prudential on Monday. “We’re not truly worried about that,”he told press reporters Sunday on the eve of the College Football Playoff semifinal.Saban stated they have had a lot of opportunity to get ready for the game.

Besides, he added, being a group that likes to go no-huddle on offense, “You have actually got to adapt and adjust how you interact with quarterback.”Editor’s Picks 2 Related But Saban did use the question about the Wolverines

‘supposed

sign-stealing

operation, which led to a three-game suspension for coach Jim Harbaugh, to make a point about the stability of the game, which he stated is” actually, really essential.”” Hopefully one day we’ll get to the NFL system where you can

just speak with the guy’s helmet, “he said.Headset communication, where coaches can speak straight to designated players on offense and defense, is only now getting traction in college football. It’s being used on a speculative basis in non-CFP bowl games, so long as both coaches and their respective conferences settle on what systems to use.But the semifinal games, in addition to the national championship game on Jan. 8, won’t feature

the innovation. And unless the NCAA rules committee moves rapidly this offseason, it won’t be available next season at all.”I think that ‘d be a lot better,”Saban said of headset communication,”however for now we simply need to adjust to how we communicate with the quarterback and change it up and try to not put our players in disadvantage in any method.”Todd Berry, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, told ESPN previously this season he was annoyed that headset communication wasn’t currently the standard.”This is too simple a problem to resolve,” he stated of alleged sign stealing.The SEC and Big Ten have actually both studied the use of the technology in the past but have actually balked at execution over worries of cost and voiding the service warranties of helmets. However following the Michigan circumstance, there has actually been a groundswell of support.LSU coach Brian Kelly stated it was”ridiculous”they aren’t utilizing headset interaction. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman stated he’s “all for it” and that it would “take some of that [sign-stealing] out of the game and make sure that it’s all reasonable. “Including another wrinkle to the integrity problem in sophisticated scouting, Alabama players exposed recently that they had actually stopped utilizing their iPads to enjoy film over fears that the information wasn’t secure.In November, Michigan had taken similar precautions after what Harbaugh said were”rumors “it had become aware of a breach.Catapult, the company that manages video footage for college football programs, said in a statement Friday that the NCAA is carrying out an investigation into an allegation that an unnamed college football program gained unauthorized access to its products.

But the company stated it did not find a breach.”We will continue to support the ongoing investigation with the NCAA and local authorities,”the declaration read. “At Catapult, we hold ourselves to the highest of requirements and securing customer details is of utmost importance to us. “A Michigan representative said it is not

being implicated of the claims and believed it was among the schools targeted in the breach.