A ball off the head causes such an injury to not be able to play? This would have to be concussion related or at least precautionary with an overabundance of caution. Anyway, been said before on this forum, the occurrences of injuries in practices - not games - might be a good time for coaches to reassess if practices need to be toned down a bit.
Through the years, part of Geno’s secret sauce was to make his practices extremely tough right up to the end of the regular season and then back off for the Big Dance. In so doing, the team got a jolt of energy for the tournament and typically performed at another, higher level.
Will concede hard, precise practices are required to be prepared for what will come in March, especially when having not-so-tough conference competition. Just need to make sure there's enough nose guards!
And, perhaps some hockey helmets...
This made me think of the guardian caps used in professional football. Not sure if it's feasible, but curious if a modified version could be used to help minimize impact.