As a graduate of Washington State University, I was shocked and saddened last January when Cougar quarterback Tyler Hilinski committed suicide.
The body of the 21-year-old junior from California was found in his apartment in Pullman, Wash., a bullet wound in his head and a rifle and note nearby.
For a long time, me and many other people within the Wazzu family were puzzled as to why Hilinski might have pulled that trigger. The Cougars’ long-time starter, Luke Falk, had finished his career in Pullman, and Hilinski was certainly the heir apparent in Coach Mike Leach’s successful program.
But now a story has circulated indicating an autopsy revealed that Hilinski actually had a fairly advanced stage of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Doctors say he had “the brain of a 65-year-old.”
Hilinski’s parents and brother said his condition might have come down to one big hit in a Washington State game against Arizona. They said he was never the same after that, but they “missed” their chance to help him.
Whatever the circumstances behind Hilinski’s tragic death, it brings up a subject that’s now quite familiar to anyone who keeps even a slight eye or ear on football: It’s a collision sport, collisions happen a lot, and the bodies involved in said collisions are a heck of a lot larger and faster than they once were and are getting larger and faster every year.
I have a solution to the growing dilemma of where football goes in the future. And I don’t think it’s original; I did come up with it myself, but I believe I’m not alone.
Instead of having 11 guys in the field for each team, traditional “tackle” football should transform into 7-on-7 flag-football featuring only what are commonly referred to as “skilled” players. No helmets (imagine actually being able to see the players’ faces), no tackling and no 370-pound behemoths crushing backs and skulls, just athletic and highly mobile ball throwers, carriers and receivers.
Back when I was sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Cleveland, Ga., during each of several summers I attended a 7-on-7 flag football tournament at Georgia Tech in Atlanta that the local high school team competed in. I telling you, it was awesome.
The relatively short games included everything a fan could want – plays, referees, clock management, controversy and pretty much all the excitement of football. About the only things missing were the crack of helmets bashing shoulder pads and players slowly getting off the ground after being “pancaked” by a human frame with about 165 pounds more bulk.
I’m not exaggerating; 7-on-7 is really cool and would be way cooler if played by elite-level athletes in state-of-the-art venues.
Yes, it would be a major change and the transition would surely be met with much dissention from football “purists.” But in the end, I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all and virtually every aspect of what people love about football would be intact, from amazing touchdowns, to crucial defensive plays, suspense, joy, disappointment and more.
To take this a step further, I have a prediction to make about the future of football, and it’s not spur-of-the-moment because of the Hilinski story, but rather something I’ve been pondering for a long time: At some point (maybe within 30 years), football as we know it will be replaced by a flag-oriented version, probably 7-on-7.
I think it’s a viable solution based on necessity. But it’s more than that; it’s a way for football to continue as a favorite American pastime in a manner that would still be exciting and hugely popular.
Then again, maybe I took a big hit while playing wide receiver as a teenager in Bellevue, Wash., and my ability to reason has been negatively affected.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald.
Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.
