The last time Alabama and Georgia met in the SEC Championship in 2021, Connor Stalions may have been among the 78,030 in attendance. Stalions purchased tickets to that game and the 2022 Georgia-LSU meeting, according to ESPN, as the scope of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal broadened past the Big Ten.

Though Stallions and other Michigan staffers have been fired, head coach Jim Harbaugh suspended for three games, the ramifications of the probe could bring seismic changes to college football. Or, more accurately, modernize the way players receive calls from coaches.

Addressing the media on Thursday ahead of the SEC title game, commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the “current issues” plaguing the sport. The first? The possible introduction of communicators would nearly eliminate sign stealing.

“We have worked at wearables and helmet audio capabilities from different vendors. We’ll continue to engage in that research. Looking at some of what’s happened this year has accelerated that conversation. We have updated our athletics directors on these initial efforts. … We look to the opportunity to work more closely with the NCAA Football Rules Committee to see what may be possible for the 2024 football season.”

In the upcoming bowl season, the NCAA will trial coach-to-play helmet communicators in non-College Football Playoff games. When the scandal broke in October, 11 of the then-14 head coaches in the SEC told reporters they’d be in favor of having the option to bypass the old system of signaling plays via hand gestures or cue cards, including Alabama coach Nick Saban.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that some teams utilize electronic wristbands in practice. It’s currently unclear what other “wearables” Sankey is referring to. The common idea is a one-way headset so a coordinator can call plays directly into the ear of a player that cuts off at a certain moment in the play clock. The NFL introduced a helmet receiver in 2008.

“I do think that the helmet communicator is probably a real positive thing for the game,” Saban said. “You can’t steal signs and any of this stuff if you have a helmet communicator. I think it would be a good thing. I think it’s worked out well in the NFL. I also think it’s good to have one guy on defense so you can tell that guy what the call is and not have to go through all this signaling process.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].