SoCal college football teams work to prevent head injuries

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- USC and UCLA kick off the college football season in just over a month, but concerns over head injuries are changing the way they practice.

A Boston University study found that out of 111 brains of men who played in the National Football League, 110 of them had suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

"My mother worries about it a lot because it's about after football, you know, it's the after effects," said Colorado running back, Phillip Lindsay. "It's about knowing that something's wrong, you know, like you hurt something in your head."

"I try not worry about it as much, but it is scary. A lot of teammates have had it and I've probably had a couple that you don't know about because you just don't know because you're trying to be tough and trying to go through it. You just hope you can come out of playing football as healthy as you can."

Many coaches, like UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora, feel responsible for protecting their players and their well-being after football.

Mora went as far as to partner with researchers and a company named VICIS, which has created a helmet designed to reduce concussions.

"It's a real problem and it's a permanent problem and it affects lives forever," said Mora. "I've had three very close friends who have taken their lives because they have indicated that it was because of brain injuries and CTE and so it's just something I'm passionate about."

Colorado head coach, Mike Macintyre, admitted concussions were an issue, but said there is such a spotlight on football. He believes other sports, like women's soccer, are just as dangerous when it comes to head injuries.