SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – They may look a little funny, but safety is much more important.
The Utah football team is wearing protective Guardian Caps on its helmets in training camp to reduce the impact from helmet collisions.
Studies have shown that the Guardian Caps can make a difference when it comes to concussions, reducing impact by up to 20 percent if both players are wearing them. The NFL mandated most players wear the caps through the first two weeks of training camp. That’s why the Utes adopted that policy, and the coaches are all for it.
“The NFL made it mandatory for fall camp,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Concussion-wise, you’re always looking for a way to curb that through your drill work and how you structure things. If you can do it with a piece of protective equipment, then that’s all the better.”
“Anything to keep them as fresh and healthy, that’s the biggest thing, just the hits that they’re taking,” added defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley. “It just happens, and we’re a physical football team. So the more that we can keep them healthy and away from those head injuries, we’re going to do everything we can.”
While the Guardian Caps do improve safety when it comes to helmet-to-helmet collisions, they can also be cumbersome and hot, and not all the players like them.
“I’m not a really big fan of them,” said tight end Brant Kuithe. “I don’t really know what is the science behind them. I think for linemen it’s a good use for them because they hit a lot in the head. But as far as outside players go, quarterbacks, receivers, I don’t think it’s of very much use. But I guess we’ll have to see when someone gets hit in the head and see if it really does work.”
Could there come a time when we see some type of padded helmet used in actual games?
“Could be,” Whittingham said. “But there’s some issues there with helmet manufacturers and guarantees that they make and maybe not being valid if you have something that’s modified the helmet. So, I don’t know exactly all aobut that, but that would be something that would need to be looked at.”
Utah State is also wearing the Guardian Caps during training camp, while BYU is not.