Table 4.
Distribution of Injuries by Men's Football Specific Activities and Player Position
| Overall |
Competitions |
Practices |
||||
| Injuries Reported, No. (%) |
National Estimate, No. (%) |
Injuries Reported, No. (%) |
National Estimate, No. (%) |
Injuries Reported, No. (%) |
National Estimate, No. (%) |
|
| Activity | ||||||
| Being blocked | 1537 (8.88) | 23 454 (9.19) | 764 (9.84) | 11 668 (10.35) | 773 (8.09) | 11 786 (8.27) |
| Being tackled | 1577 (9.11) | 24 488 (9.59) | 1064 (13.71) | 16 123 (14.30) | 513 (5.37) | 8365 (5.87) |
| Blocking | 2732 (15.78) | 39 702 (15.55) | 1275 (16.43) | 18 081 (16.04) | 1457 (15.25) | 21 621 (15.17) |
| Weights/conditioning | 178 (1.03) | 2848 (1.12) | 10 (0.13) | 166 (0.15) | 168 (1.76) | 2682 (1.88) |
| General play | 3037 (17.54) | 47 519 (18.62) | 1168 (15.05) | 18 131 (16.08) | 1869 (19.56) | 29 388 (20.62) |
| Kicking | 158 (0.91) | 2299 (0.90) | 45 (0.58) | 705 (0.63) | 113 (1.18) | 1594 (1.12) |
| Chasing/Diving | 275 (1.59) | 3878 (1.52) | 95 (1.22) | 1528 (1.36) | 180 (1.88) | 2350 (1.65) |
| Passing | 55 (0.32) | 865 (0.34) | 32 (0.41) | 509 (0.45) | 23 (0.24) | 356 (0.25) |
| Running | 2037 (11.76) | 30 129 (11.80) | 611 (7.87) | 8484 (7.52) | 1426 (14.93) | 21 646 (15.19) |
| Catching/receiving | 864 (4.99) | 12 358 (4.84) | 245 (3.16) | 3766 (3.34) | 619 (6.48) | 8592 (6.03) |
| Tackling | 2427 (14.02) | 36 197 (14.18) | 1553 (20.01) | 22 590 (20.04) | 874 (9.15) | 13 606 (9.55) |
| Throwing | 82 (0.47) | 1167 (0.46) | 28 (0.36) | 394 (0.35) | 54 (0.57) | 773 (0.54) |
| Other/unknown | 2356 (13.61) | 30 343 (11.89) | 872 (11.23) | 10 605 (9.41) | 1484 (15.53) | 19 738 (13.85) |
| Position | ||||||
| Defensive back | 3083 (17.81) | 44 792 (17.55) | 1428 (18.40) | 20 552 (18.23) | 1655 (17.32) | 24 239 (17.01) |
| Defensive lineman | 2660 (15.36) | 39 388 (15.43) | 1125 (14.49) | 15 894 (14.10) | 1535 (16.07) | 23 494 (16.49) |
| Kicker/punter | 177 (1.02) | 2452 (0.96) | 56 (0.72) | 729 (0.65) | 121 (1.27) | 1723 (1.21) |
| Linebacker | 2031 (11.73) | 30 578 (11.98) | 966 (12.45) | 14 267 (12.65) | 1065 (11.15) | 16 311 (11.45) |
| Offensive lineman | 2698 (15.58) | 39 399 (15.44) | 1117 (14.39) | 15 831 (14.04) | 1581 (16.55) | 23 568 (16.54) |
| Quarterback | 633 (3.66) | 9247 (3.62) | 426 (5.49) | 6125 (5.43) | 207 (2.17) | 3122 (2.19) |
| Running back | 1772 (10.23) | 27 149 (10.64) | 843 (10.86) | 12 946 (11.48) | 929 (9.72) | 14 202 (9.97) |
| Special teams | 594 (3.43) | 8865 (3.47) | 458 (5.90) | 6950 (6.16) | 136 (1.42) | 1915 (1.34) |
| Tight end | 817 (4.72) | 11 979 (4.69) | 314 (4.05) | 4517 (4.01) | 503 (5.27) | 7461 (5.24) |
| Wide receiver | 1940 (11.20) | 28 181 (11.04) | 715 (9.21) | 10 332 (9.16) | 1225 (12.82) | 17 849 (12.53) |
| Other/unknown | 910 (5.26) | 13 217 (5.18) | 314 (4.05) | 4605 (4.08) | 596 (6.24) | 8611 (6.04) |
a
Data presented in the order of reported number, followed by the proportion of all injuries attributable to a given category. Data pooled across event types are presented overall, and separately for practices and competitions. National estimates were produced using sampling weights estimated on the basis of sport, division, and year. A reportable injury was one that occurred due to participation in an organized intercollegiate practice or competition and required medical attention by a team Certified Athletic Trainer or physician (regardless of time loss). Only scheduled team practices and competitions were retained in this analysis.