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It was on a kickoff at Rice-Eccles Stadium more than 10 years ago that Kevin Guskiewicz saw what he believes to be the best hope for keeping concussions out of football.
Guskiewicz, a sports-related neurological researcher at University of North Carolina, had earlier that year convinced Tar Heels coach John Bunting to place sensors in his players' helmets. On that kickoff in 2004, a hit from a Utah player that left a Carolina blocker concussed had registered at 102 g's — the same impact that a car hitting a brick wall would have.
The player was taken off the field. The coaches and researchers took a look at the film.
"What we noticed, he was constantly leading with his head on kickoffs," Guskiewicz said.
With a combination of science and football technique, a "behavior modification program" helped the player address his unsafe practices and get back on the field.
Days before the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons take the field for the Super Bowl, Guskiewicz spoke Friday to a crowd of doctors, coaches, trainers and players at the University of Utah, advocating for greater safety measures in the sport while claiming that concerns over concussions and the number of cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy had come to border on "paranoia."
"I think we're a much safer sports society today than we were 10, 15, 20 years ago because of this," he said. "… [But] I don't think it's nearly as bad as what the media has made it out to seem."
Guskiewicz believes the increase in the number of concussions at the amateur level has largely been a matter of increased reporting, spurred by awareness and new concussion laws in all 50 states.
"I would argue this is absolutely not a concussion crisis," he said. "… I think we've closed the gap on the number of undiagnosed concussions and diagnosed concussions. This is really a reporting issue. I don't think there are more concussions occurring on our playing fields today than there was 10, 15 years ago."
Guskiewicz's own research of retired NFL players has found players with three or more concussions were five times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, and three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
Guskiewicz, however, said there is still a need for more research, particularly longitudinal studies, to understand the seriousness of the issue.
"The easy answer would just be to eliminate the sport until we figure it out, and I don't think that's the answer," he said. "… I really think if we can keep our emphasis more on how to prevent this and keep sport safe that we're going to be in a much better place a few years from now."
The researcher also downplayed the seriousness of multiple subconcussive hits, which some fear could lead to serious trauma.
"I think we have a lot more to learn, and we're having to talk these former athletes off the ledge because they read a newspaper article and they think they've got this disease," Guskiewicz said.
One player in attendance for Friday's lecture, former University of Utah and NFL center Jesse Boone, is dealing with that fear. He left the event still in search of answers.
"I describe my position to people as I would line up against the biggest, meanest guy on the field and his job was to hit me as hard as he could every single play," Boone said. "I don't think there was a single play that I did not take an impact to the head."
Last year, Boone said, he totaled his Jeep in a T-bone crash with a full-size truck.
"My first thought was a self-assessment. 'Am I OK? What happened?' " he recalled. "My second that was, 'That was nothing compared to every play I played in football during my life.' … All the hits I've taken have my wheels turning."
Guskiewicz, meanwhile, said he would not prevent children from participating in contact sports such as football, saying that ages 10-13 is a "prime window" to develop muscle memory and teach proper tackling technique.
Guskiewicz and other panelists Friday lauded measures that had been taken to improve the game's safety, including athletic trainers' improved concussion protocols and using independent concussion spotters who have the power to remove players from the field.
"It's advanced so far in the last 15 years," said Utah Athletics Director Chris Hill, one of the panelists. "It's incredible what we know. Knowledge is power and now we get to do some things in the best interest of everybody."
Twitter: @aaronfalk