FAYETTEVILLE — While Bret Bielema has an old-school approach to football, he is on the forefront when it comes to technology.
The Arkansas head coach likes to run the ball and use tight ends and fullbacks, a style that is vanishing in college football, but the Razorbacks are now one of only five teams to implement the game’s latest innovation: virtual reality.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Bielema said. “People that aren’t engaged in football, you put it on, it just blows you away. You feel like you’re in the huddle; you feel like you’re the quarterback.”
Invented by former Stanford kicker and assistant coach Derek Belch, the virtual reality headset allows players to see the game as is appears on the field from the comfort of their home. Belch, whose technology is also used at Auburn, Clemson, Stanford and Vanderbilt, said unlike other virtual reality manufacturers, his company, does not use video game engines.
Instead, STRIVR Labs uses real film, which it shoots during practices.
“It makes it so your brain really feels like you’re there, whereas with a video game, that’s not the case,” Belch told 'Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly.' “We think we have something pretty unique.”
While Belch said he sees potential for his technology to be used by running backs, offensive linemen and linebackers, the biggest impact will be on quarterbacks.
“That’s the most obvious position to start with because it’s arguably the most important position on the field,” Belch said. “The quarterback is the easiest to create the experience for because most of the time…they stand in a 2- to 3-yard halo.”
Because of that lack of movement, it is easier for Belch and his team, which includes former Stanford and NFL quarterback Trent Edwards, to simulate the action around them.
In order to create the simulation, STRIVR Labs must film plays during practice, which it did at Arkansas during the Razorbacks’ final week of spring practice. While waiting on their own, Arkansas coaches and players got to try a headset programmed with generic film.
“I tested it out a while back and it’s trippy,” Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen said. “It’s really cool how realistic it really is. You put them on and you can look every which way. It’s real-time plays coming at you.”
Veteran players like Allen will be able to use the virtual reality technology as a supplement to their live practicing, but it will be an invaluable tool for backups and young players that don’t get as many touches in practice.
“I’ll be able to throw that on and look around, go through my reads and keep getting better,” Arkansas freshman quarterback Ty Storey said.
Last year, Stanford was the first school to implement the technology, although it was still raw. Its quarterback, Kevin Hogan, completed 65.9 percent of his passes, which ranked 16th in the FBS.
Belch worked out the kinks in the system late in the season and Hogan’s completion rate shot up to 76.3 percent. He admits that other factors contributed to the increase, but Belch said he is confident his invention helped.
“When your quarterback tells you the next day that he saw things on the field that we put into virtual reality, that shows you that it’s working,” Belch said.
The quarterback isn’t the only player that can benefit from virtual reality.Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said he thinks the Razorbacks’ middle linebackers, sometimes referred to as the quarterback of the defense, will also learn from it.
“We think that it’s going to be a great teaching tool, especially in terms of communication, alignment and assignment,” Smith said. “I’m anxious to get the finished product and progress forward with it.”
Bielema said Arkansas would use it in recruiting, too. When Belch was in Fayetteville filming practice, Bielema had him film the stadium, weight room, training room and meeting rooms, so he can show recruits what everything looks like.
The coaching staff as a whole believes that virtual reality’s potential is limitless.
“I don’t even want to begin to think about how it all works, but it’s pretty cool,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “It’s going to be something, as it continues to evolve, that will have a lot of positive implications for our young players.”