These young men are among those who have changed the game for me; some injured and some died we support them all and many more who the game has and is taking.

They happen all the time and they are almost always celebrated on the sidelines when I witness them and am close enough to hear the reactions.  Headhunters in Football have been held up as heroes by fans and by their coaches far too long.  The NFL put out their “Big Hits” videos for years and made a ton of money selling those films to blood thirsty fans.

In the Hawaii VS UCLA game yesterday you have a hit that is so violent and so intentional that it must be dealt with.  These hits are not “incidental” – rarely is that true.  I refuse to accept that on any level.  This hit was easily capable of killing this UCLA player and may, in fact, do so over time.

If you read my “stuff” you know I have been to a few Football funerals and watched parents bury their boys.  Some of them hit in ways like this.  Many more are dying from this game and now that we know thousands more will we must act. CTE is killing the game long term.  In the short term, high school and youth football sign ups around the Nation are experiencing difficulty fielding players as parents and athletes are choosing other sports.  The game is dying and it is being caused from within.

The NFL just had the big opener where the Patriots and Chiefs battled and it was the least watched NFL opener in decades.  They are bleeding cash as veteran players die from permanent brain damage.  Boxing used to be a premier sport too- no one cares now.

I am going to advocate for instant replay on hits like this at any time during or after the game.  That should be done by a National Commission of NCAA medical advisors and rules gurus.  If the hit, intentional or not, had the ability to do harm to the player than the offending athlete gets a two game suspension.  Period.  The game will not police itself, officials do not have the ability to do this, and Coaches look the other way most of the time.

Today I am challenging Hawaii Head Coach Nick Rolovich to suspend his offending player for two games and for Hawaii Football to issue a formal apology to the UCLA Bruins Kenny Young.  Failing that I will not support Hawaii Football, which I have the greatest respect for, any longer from a recruiting standpoint.  Coach Rolovich is capable of leading on this issue because he is that sort of man and coach; I hope he accepts my challenge.

Here is the film- hate on me if you want.  Those of you that do not get it are the reason the game is in such dire straights.

The Pac-12 said this was a hit to the shoulder pic.twitter.com/nAF9koOfea

— #BeatMemphis (@Blutman27UCLA) September 9, 2017

Dirk Knudsen

I am the Founder of the Northwest Prep Report. For 17 years I have led the way to the best of my ability to promote the best talent from the Pacific NW free of charge. It is my pleasure to continue to serve High School athletes from all over the Pacific NW and beyond. Formerly with Rivals.com my sites have now crossed over 8,000 stories, 7 MILLION Video Views, and 15,000 regular followers. Together with the best football people in the USA we pursue excellence for our NW athletes.