Associations of Tackling Characteristics, Player Position, and Head Contact Risk During Game Play in College Football

Stephen L Aita; Emily Z Holding; Richard P Bolander; Kelsea Marshall; Curt Oberg; Benjamin Schuler; Michael Derosier; Eugene F Teevens; Jonathan D Lichtenstein

doi:10.4085/1062-6050-0669.24

Associations of Tackling Characteristics, Player Position, and Head Contact Risk During Game Play in College Football

J Athl Train. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0669.24. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Stephen L Aita^{1

2}, Emily Z Holding³, Richard P Bolander⁴, Kelsea Marshall³, Curt Oberg⁵, Benjamin Schuler⁶, Michael Derosier⁶, Eugene F Teevens⁵, Jonathan D Lichtenstein^{3

7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ 1VA Maine Healthcare System, Augusta, ME, USA.
² 2Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.
³ 3Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, USA.
⁴ 4TracPatch Health LLC, Wyoming, MI, USA.
⁵ 5Dartmouth College Football, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
⁶ 6Department of Sports Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
⁷ 7Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
⁸ 8Department of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
⁹ 9The Dartmouth Institute, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.

PMID: 40356554
DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-0669.24

Abstract

Context: Sport-related concussion is a common injury among National Collegiate Athletic Association football athletes. Beginning with the 2016 season, Ivy League Conference coaches voted to ban player- on-player tackling from all in-season practices. BLINDED have enforced a no-tackle approach in practices since 2010.

Objective: To examine the association between tackling technique and head contact risk, and compare base rates of techniques used in the 2016 season between an Ivy League team with a longstanding no- tackle practice policy vs. the rest of the league.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Ivy League College Football Conference.

Patients or other participants: Two-hundred-thirty-seven Ivy League defensive football players that participated in the 2016 season.

Main outcome measure(s): Tackles (N=3,701) across 237 Ivy League defensive football players in the 2016 season were coded based on predetermined classifications, which were combined to create unique tackle combinations/techniques. Associations among tackling techniques, head impact risk, and team (BLINIDED vs. other Ivy League teams) were evaluated using logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) for head contact.

Results: Low-risk tackle characteristics for head contact during a tackle were neutral neck position (OR=0.1), back contact area (OR=0.3), pursuing momentum (OR=0.5), and quarterback sack momentum (OR=0.3). Low-risk tackle techniques were high-back-neutral (OR=0.1), low-back-neutral (OR=0.2), and medium-back-neutral (OR=0.1). High-risk tackle characteristics were flexion (OR=14.2) and extension (OR=3.8) neck positioning, front contact (OR=2.2), blowup (OR=2.5), and cut (OR=3.0). High-risk tackle techniques included low-side-flexion (OR=4.9), low-front-flexion (OR=9.9), medium-side-flexion (OR=15.5), and medium-front-flexion (OR=11.4). Relative to BLINDED, other teams demonstrated higher odds of using high-risk techniques (low-side-flexion OR=3.5; low-front-flexion OR=3.9; medium- side-flexion OR=6.3; medium-front-flexion OR=2.3) and reduced odds of using low-risk tackle combinations (high-side-neutral OR=0.4; high-back-neutral OR=0.6; medium-side-neutral OR=0.8).

Conclusions: Tackling techniques are associated with head contact risk, and by extension, player safety. BLINDED, who have a longstanding policy of practicing without player-on-player tackling, showed reduced use of high-risk tackling techniques.

Keywords: college football; concussion; head injury; prevention; safety.