Tom Allen is turning to a Penn State legend to solve a big problem on the defense

For the first time in college football, coaches have a direct line of communication to the field. This offseason, in the fallout of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, the NCAA decided to allow in-helmet communication so coordinators can relay play calls directly to a designated player on the defense and of course to the quarterback. 

While that system has been in place in the NFL for years, college coaching staffs had to work out the kinks through the first few weeks of the season, including Penn State and new defensive coordinator Tom Allen. The former Indiana head coach has a notoriously raspy voice and that reportedly made it difficult for veteran linebacker Kobe King, Penn State’s defensive helmet communicator, to understand his play-calls in Week 2 against Bowling Green. 

Penn State’s defense allowed 24 points in the first half against Bowling Green, and just three in the second half. So, against Kent State in Week 4, Allen moved from the sidelines up to the coach's booth, and Penn State’s all-time leading tackle and current defensive analyst Dan Connor was chosen to relay the calls from Allen to King. 

The former All-American linebacker played in Happy Valley from 2004-07 and recorded 419 tackles. Now, he’s taking on a big responsibility in his new role and it appears that the experiment worked. With Allen upstairs and Connor with a headset on the sidelines, Penn State only allowed 66 total yards and six first downs in the team’s 56-0 win over Kent State. 

Even coming off an improved performance, the Penn State defense has continued to work on communication with Connor on the headset and simulated crowd noise pumping into practice. This new game of telephone will get a huge test on Saturday night with No. 19 Illinois at Beaver Stadium for Penn State's Big Ten opener.