It has been a difficult time for football players in recent days after a high school player in Georgia passed away from a head injury on Sept. 30.
Right here in the Volunteer State, a Tennessee State University player was injured during the game against Vanderbilt on Sept. 29
In East Tennessee, different school districts have protocol for choosing helmets and tending to players' medical needs on the field.
Fulton Athletic Director Jody Wright said out of all of the types of equipment, helmets go through the most rigorous assessment process.
"Every two years, helmets have to go through a certification process to determine whether or not they are safe or if they need to be replaced," he said. "If they don't reach certain requirements, then they have to be replaced."
But safety precautions don't stop with choosing helmets. Wright said there's also an even greater emphasis placed on playing time.
"It's policy for Knox County Schools to have medical staff on hand at every game, that includes rural metro, trainers, doctors and an ambulance," Wright said.
Anderson County High School Athletic Director Gary Terry said his program has adopted a lot of the same measures with a few differences.
"We have our helmets checked every single year and we have a guy come to the school to bag them up and take them to be tested," he said. "Each year we replace about 11 or 12 helmets because we want to make sure our players are putting on safe equipment."
Terry has two sons who play on the team, which he said even intensifies how important it is to make sure all equipment meets a high safety standard.
"I'm a dad so I know how important it is for parents to know that we are working as hard as possible to make sure teens are safe," he said.
Helmet safety is something both Terry and Wright believe evolves over time as teams begin to learn more about new equipment and how it can affect players.
"The technology that's available today for high school football coaches is so much greater than what it was 20 years ago and it goes back into the safety of your players," Wright said. "I think every coach in America wants their players in a safe equipment."