[needle]

It basically boils down to this for Owusu:

Owusu says he never had a concussion before his final two seasons at Stanford. A human biology major who is laying the foundation to become a physician, he says he has read a couple of articles about concussions and talked with his doctors about whether he is at greater risk by continuing to play. So far, no one has told him that.

And this for at least one NFL team:

"He's off our board," says one general manager. "He was from the start. It wouldn't matter if he was RG3, he'd still be off our board. With that kind of history it's not worth the risk of him being seriously injured, especially with all the attention you're going to receive. If you draft him you're going to be under the microscope the whole time. Every time he gets hit it's going to be magnified tenfold."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/wr...t=hp_wr_a2

[needle]

It basically boils down to this for Owusu:

Owusu says he never had a concussion before his final two seasons at Stanford. A human biology major who is laying the foundation to become a physician, he says he has read a couple of articles about concussions and talked with his doctors about whether he is at greater risk by continuing to play. So far, no one has told him that.

And this for at least one NFL team:

"He's off our board," says one general manager. "He was from the start. It wouldn't matter if he was RG3, he'd still be off our board. With that kind of history it's not worth the risk of him being seriously injured, especially with all the attention you're going to receive. If you draft him you're going to be under the microscope the whole time. Every time he gets hit it's going to be magnified tenfold."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/wr...t=hp_wr_a2

[Hurlburt88]

I hate to say it, but I'd really like to see him just apply to med school and move on! 

[Hurlburt88]

I hate to say it, but I'd really like to see him just apply to med school and move on! 

[OutsiderFan]

The reason Owusu is so magnified  a case is because his concussions are connected in the consciousness of football observers to four brutal hits (@ Oregon 2010, @ WSU 2011, @ U.S.C. 2011, and @OSU 2011) all clearly evident on video.  If he were an interior lineman, and there was no real way to see any visibly disturbing hits, nobody would have him off their draft board.

In fact, I'm willing to bet there are other players who will be drafted higher than Owusu who have as much concussion history as Owusu, only theirs doesn't come with graphic video of them getting drilled in the open field and carried off on a stretcher.

[OutsiderFan]

The reason Owusu is so magnified  a case is because his concussions are connected in the consciousness of football observers to four brutal hits (@ Oregon 2010, @ WSU 2011, @ U.S.C. 2011, and @OSU 2011) all clearly evident on video.  If he were an interior lineman, and there was no real way to see any visibly disturbing hits, nobody would have him off their draft board.

In fact, I'm willing to bet there are other players who will be drafted higher than Owusu who have as much concussion history as Owusu, only theirs doesn't come with graphic video of them getting drilled in the open field and carried off on a stretcher.

[Farm93]

In some ways the league now NEEDS to draft Owusu.

Openly disclosing that players might get overlooked because of a few concussions would really stunt the awareness drive.

Other college players might try much harder to cover up their possible concussions, if it becomes the accepted belief that speedy Owusu was not drafted because of his three concussions over 2 years.  Just 3!  Players might try to play through more things if they feared that one or two official concussions could keep them out of "The League" in a year or two.
 
High School players all over the country get concussions every weekend.  Many schools lack the resources to have trainers and medically trained staff.  If HS players feared that a history of documented concussions might ultimately keep them away from a scholarship offer, they too might opt to ignore the warnings.

If open dialog and full disclosure are the goals of teams, coaches, administrators and teams then Owusu should get a look.  Or at least the league needs to claim that he is not getting a look because of his poor hands, or something.

That said, seems as though Owusu's future outside of football, if mentally healthy, is reasonably favorable, so I almost wish he would pursue those opportunities.

[Farm93]

In some ways the league now NEEDS to draft Owusu.

Openly disclosing that players might get overlooked because of a few concussions would really stunt the awareness drive.

Other college players might try much harder to cover up their possible concussions, if it becomes the accepted belief that speedy Owusu was not drafted because of his three concussions over 2 years.  Just 3!  Players might try to play through more things if they feared that one or two official concussions could keep them out of "The League" in a year or two.
 
High School players all over the country get concussions every weekend.  Many schools lack the resources to have trainers and medically trained staff.  If HS players feared that a history of documented concussions might ultimately keep them away from a scholarship offer, they too might opt to ignore the warnings.

If open dialog and full disclosure are the goals of teams, coaches, administrators and teams then Owusu should get a look.  Or at least the league needs to claim that he is not getting a look because of his poor hands, or something.

That said, seems as though Owusu's future outside of football, if mentally healthy, is reasonably favorable, so I almost wish he would pursue those opportunities.