College football coaches and their respective staffs are still in the early adoption phase of virtual reality, a new training and preparation tool for players and teams that has gained traction over the past year.
Around a dozen schools, including Stanford, Utah, Arkansas and Kansas State, are currently working with STRIVR Labs.
Skeptics still remain: it’s a new technology for old-school coaches, slightly high price-wise, and will it even work? However, those who have embraced virtual reality and incorporated it into their practices, film sessions and game day preparation — like Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury — have been “blown away by it,” as the head coach explained to SportTechie.
Last fall, a Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback article highlighting Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer and his use of virtual reality initially sparked Kingsbury’s interest. Once the 37-year-old Kingsbury put the headset on, he was hooked.
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Kingsbury said the simple way in which STRIVR founder and CEO Derek Belch along with his team explained the technology, its uses and how it could make a difference aided in the adoption.
It also didn’t hurt that Belch is a former Stanford kicker who played in the mid-2000s and that much of his staff at STRIVR played football at the high school, college or professional level. In order words, they can speak the lingo.
“We’re not programmers, we’re football coaches,” said Kingsbury, whose team is using the technology for the first time this year. “Knowing the terminology to use when selling their product went a long way for us.”
Added Belch: “Kliff has integrated it since day one that we started working with them into their meetings and into what they do. That’s the type of coach we want to be working with. … (Virtual reality is) the mental layer on top of the running, the lifting, the time in the film room. It’s another piece of the puzzle.”
After capturing as much practice football as possible during spring practice, Kingsbury and his staff started the integration process, with players using virtual reality a few times a week during the summer and then in early fall before traditional film sessions.
Over a span of almost three weeks before the season started, Texas Tech quarterbacks combined to watch 1,500 plays with a headset. It is something Belch and his management team at STRIVR are closely monitoring this year, with them now sending weekly usage reports to coaching staffs to highlight when players are watching, what they are viewing and for how long.
Perhaps the Red Raider who has benefited the most from virtual reality is junior quarterback, Patrick Mahomes II, who is in his second season as full-time starter.
Those “three, four, or five” additional mental reps Mahomes receives with the headset on for different scenarios — as Kingsbury described — has allowed him to operate at a quicker pass and see pre-snap reads better than in 2015. In two games this season, Mahomes has thrown for nine touchdowns, 1,023 yards and has slightly over a 70 percent completion rate.
“You save your arm, you save your feet, you’re not getting hit, but your mind is working,” Kingsbury said.
Unlike Kingsbury, Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren was moderately skeptical a few years back, even with head coach David Shaw helping STRIVR get off the ground two years ago with a contribution to a mid five-figure investment. The early skepticism toward virtual reality is arguably more common right now as it looks to gain footing across college and professional football.
“After seeing the first thing they shot for us, I was like, ‘Whoa. This really has value.’ You put on that virtual reality headset, and you’re immersed in it,” Bloomgren said.
He recounted a recent story where one of his offensive linemen who had transitioned roles this season, couldn’t quite pick up what the coaching staff was telling him. Bloomgren was at a complete loss until the player suggested using virtual reality to better understand his new role.
“I was almost embarrassed I didn’t think of it myself because we are trying to utilize it more,” Bloomgren said. “That’s how much our kids believe in it. He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m having a problem with this. Can we take some time and set this up?’ It worked out well for us.”
Like Kingsbury and Mahomes at Texas Tech, Bloomgren found similar success with quarterback Ryan Burns. In the season opener, the senior had a 77.8 percent completion rate, going 14-for-18 for 156 yards and one touchdown two weeks ago in a win against Kansas State.
For Burns, who came from a high school without much of a passing offense, the repetition with virtual reality has allowed him to become more comfortable and confident in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, according to Bloomgren. Additionally, Burns’ familiarity with watching seven-on-seven drills time and time again has slowed the game down as well.
Beyond the quarterback position, which has the best use for virtual reality, Stanford has utilized the game-simulating technology with running backs, offensive linemen and even linebackers.
“Whether it’s a line check look or checking out protection, going through progressions and then living them, it’s the best thing in player development that I’ve seen aside from an actual practice,” said Bloomgren, adding that the team now has a dedicated virtual reality room where players can watch film anytime.
Yes, coaches like Bloomgren and Kingsbury are the early adopters of virtual reality, but as word continues to spread about its benefits and potential correlation to on-field performance, there soon may be others joining.
“I think every Power 5 school will eventually have this,” said Kingsbury about whether or not this eventually will be a “must have” in college football. “Once the price lowers a bit, I think every high school will have it as well. To me, it’s a distinct advantage.”