[Mick]

There's a doctor I've gotten to know that played football for Princeton.  He said he had many many concussions from playing football in high school and college.  It does not seem to have impaired him neurologically as he's one of the top doctors in his specialty.  Could be his physiology.  It could also be the amount of force (mass x acceleration) in high school and Ivy League football is lower than FBS or the NFL.  Perhaps the NCAA and the NFL should limit weight for various positions.  They would pull back this arms race on bulking up and perhaps reduce the use of PEDs and concussions.

In reverse order...

1)  There is an NCAA-recognized variant of varsity football that limits weight.  It's called "sprint football" f/k/a lightweight football.  Players are limited to 178 pounds, and must have a minimum of 5% body fat.  One of the Ivies, West Point and Annapolis play it.  Traditionally, the military academies are terrific.  Princeton dropped the sport in 2015 after 16 consecutive winless seasons, a record.  Today, only two Ivies still play it, Penn and Cornell, along with West Point and Annapolis.  The other four schools are Chestnut Hill, Franklin Pierce, Mansfield and Post University.  All are in the Northeast.

2)  The difference between force and mass between the Ivies and FBS schools is substantial.  So is the coaching and level of athletic ability.  Candidly, it's a little bit painful to watch the Ivies, it reminds me of the old SCU football.  My son told me the first play he witnessed was the tight end going out in the flat, the QB telegraphed his pass which needed to travel about 15 yards in the air.  Result?  He threw it six yards short.  Stanford's walk-ons, generally speaking would fit right in with the Ivies.

[Mick]

There's a doctor I've gotten to know that played football for Princeton.  He said he had many many concussions from playing football in high school and college.  It does not seem to have impaired him neurologically as he's one of the top doctors in his specialty.  Could be his physiology.  It could also be the amount of force (mass x acceleration) in high school and Ivy League football is lower than FBS or the NFL.  Perhaps the NCAA and the NFL should limit weight for various positions.  They would pull back this arms race on bulking up and perhaps reduce the use of PEDs and concussions.

In reverse order...

1)  There is an NCAA-recognized variant of varsity football that limits weight.  It's called "sprint football" f/k/a lightweight football.  Players are limited to 178 pounds, and must have a minimum of 5% body fat.  One of the Ivies, West Point and Annapolis play it.  Traditionally, the military academies are terrific.  Princeton dropped the sport in 2015 after 16 consecutive winless seasons, a record.  Today, only two Ivies still play it, Penn and Cornell, along with West Point and Annapolis.  The other four schools are Chestnut Hill, Franklin Pierce, Mansfield and Post University.  All are in the Northeast.

2)  The difference between force and mass between the Ivies and FBS schools is substantial.  So is the coaching and level of athletic ability.  Candidly, it's a little bit painful to watch the Ivies, it reminds me of the old SCU football.  My son told me the first play he witnessed was the tight end going out in the flat, the QB telegraphed his pass which needed to travel about 15 yards in the air.  Result?  He threw it six yards short.  Stanford's walk-ons, generally speaking would fit right in with the Ivies.