It’s first and 10 in the second quarter.
Matthew Kimbrugh, right guard, was lining up on the scrimmage line waiting for the center to snap the ball to the quarterback; just like he would for any other time.
The next thing he recalls is nothing.
“I can’t remember what happened,” Kimbrugh said. “I just kind of blacked out. I didn’t know I had a concussion until the trainers and the coaches told me so.”
Concussions have been a problem athletes have had to deal with, especially football players.
A concussion is an injury to the brain that is caused by a sudden blow to the head.
The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which then temporarily prevents the brain from working normally, according to the WebMD online website.
“Concussion instances have not increased but awareness has definitely increased,” Kari Brody, senior athletic trainer, said.
“I think this problem has always existed,” Brody said. “One of the areas that have really gotten better is the education, educating the athletes, coaches and everyone involved to the signs of concussions and what to do if a player sustains one.”
At the moment a player sustains a concussion, some signs might be confusion, blurred vision, memory loss, nausea and sometimes unconsciousness, according to the article, Concussions and Head Injuries in Football, from the New York Times.
“It happened by head-to-head contact during practice,” Moses Alvidrez, offensive lineman, said. “Ten to 15 minutes later, I became heavy-headed and dizzy.”
Alvidrez added that once the coaches realized something was wrong, he knew it was more than just a headache.
“I was very uncoordinated and started going in the wrong direction and that’s when the coaches knew something was wrong with me,” he said.
Concussions can lead to problems once the player who sustains them gets older.
The NFL has realized the major concerns for its current and former players and EC has also taken notice.
“There are some current studies going on right now with NFL players,” Brody said. ”They say that some of the players who sustain concussions are even associated with long-term health risks, like memory problems, behavioral problems or even early Alzheimers.”
Due to the severity of concussions, coaches and trainers are very careful when players show any signs of sustaining one.
“Once a player is diagnosed with a concussion they’re immediately removed from play and there’s a series of testing done on them,” Brody said. “Once they are able to return, it’s also a progression. They don’t come back that first day and go straight to a game or straight to impact. They slowly progress into activity.”
Brody said the department is serious about concussions and make sure that each player who sustains them is safe.
“We’ve always tried to do as much as possible to protect them,” Brody said. “Now with equipment development and with new helmet designs, protection has definitely gotten better.”