Can you imagine football without kickoffs? Well, you might not need to imagine much longer, as discussions about eliminating kickoffs in college football have begun, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. For several years now, kickoffs and the injuries that result from kickoffs have been a talking point at all levels of football. With hopes of reducing severe injuries that happen when players come flying down the field at one another at full speed, the NFL and the NCAA changed the yard line at which the ball is kicked off in recent years to drive up the number of touchbacks. But, of course, eliminating kickoffs entirely would be a far more drastic step. And if player safety is truly the goal, it could most definitely be the right move. Dodd reports that both the American Football Coaches Association’s board of trustees and the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee have talked about the possibility of removing kickoffs from the game, and he wrote that while both groups continue to review injury data, “preliminary indications are that injuries occur at a higher rate on kickoffs.” Anyone who’s watched football can understand why that is, and plenty of fans and observers have…
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