This wasn't the type of hit that makes SportsCenter or triggers a collective "ooh" from the crowd. No, the hit that sidelined Boise State running back Matt Kaiserman for more than two months was, as he put it, "pretty mundane."

The results were anything but and exposed one of the biggest safety issues facing football at all levels: Mounting concern about head injuries.

Kaiserman, a redshirt freshman, took a helmet-to-helmet hit during a fall practice on Aug. 16.

"It wasn't a big hit at all," said Kaiserman, a star at Skyview High in Nampa.

He continued to practice.

But running backs coach Keith Bhonapha quickly noticed a difference in Kaiserman and called for trainers.

"I just knew that there was something that wasn't clicking right there," Bhonapha said. "You're so quick to want these guys to be tough guys and, 'You're fine, get back in there.' But I'm glad I didn't."

Head athletic trainer Marc Paul cannot discuss specific injuries, but he described the evaluation that his team does immediately.

"Do they have headaches? Can they remember things? I'll have them do a simple math test, a verbal math test, like a memory test, real quick addition or subtraction. A balance test," Paul said. He also asks players questions such as the day of the week, what they ate for their pregame meal, their address or their phone number. "If they show any signs or symptoms of anything, we just pull them right then and there."

After the injury, Kaiserman suffered from headaches and occasional blurred vision. He struggled to focus for long stretches of time, a problem that made the 3.6-GPA student carve out more time for studying and school work.

As the symptoms lingered and the trainers did more tests, Kaiserman began to research concussions on his own - discussing the situation with medical professionals in his family and a high school coach who coached former Idaho State and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Merril Hoge. Hoge retired from the NFL after a series of concussions.

Kaiserman had two MRIs done, including a contrast MRI where dye is injected. Paul said such tests are not standard, but are used in rare occurrences.

"It just wasn't a smart thing to come back quicker than you ought to," Kaiserman said. "As frustrating as it was, I had to wait and really trust our trainers and know that they had my best interest in mind.

"Every other injury out there, you can somewhat do some sort of rehab for. But this one, there's nothing you can do but sit and wait. That's the most frustrating part."

BRAIN INJURIES GAINING ATTENTION

The issue of concussions and brain damage in football has been a hot topic lately, thanks largely to explosive research by Boston University researchers that discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease, in the brains of deceased football players.

Author Malcolm Gladwell highlighted the research in a piece he wrote for The New Yorker — "Offensive play: How different are dogfighting and football?" — about the long-term ramifications of football on the human brain. The U.S. House held a hearing with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the issue, though nothing concrete was decided.

Kaiserman's concussion — and the news about brain injuries — made him consider the sport's importance.

"It definitely makes you think about a lot. I thought about if some weird thing happened in my head and I couldn't play another down in my life, would I be OK with that?" Kaiserman said. "I don't know where I'd be without football, but I know I'd be successful whatever I was doing."

In an effort to further understand the impact of blows to the head, some schools have begun using helmets with sensors that track the force of each hit and record it on a computer, Paul said. Boise State does not have any of those helmets.

"We now know what the long-term effects of concussions and of multiple concussions can be and we're really paying attention to try and get the first one healed up before we let them go back.," Paul said.

RETURNING TO THE FIELD

In order for Kaiserman — or other Broncos who suffer a concussion — to get back on the field, they need to pass a number of tests.

This year, for the first time, Boise State is using computerized concussion testing to establish a baseline for players' cognitive skills such as memory, speed and reaction time and visual acuity. If a concussion occurs, players take the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) again once they are symptom-free.

"We can compare the results of the two tests. It gives us some objective numbers to go off of," Paul said.

If the results are satisfactory, then the player moves to an exercise or stress test on an exercise bike or through body weight exercises. The trainers are trying to raise the athlete's heart rate to see if the symptoms return.

Kaiserman said he failed "three or four" stress tests.

"I'd make it through just fine and five minutes after, I'd start getting headaches again. My symptoms would come back," he said.

Kaiserman isn't the only Boise State player to deal with a concussion this season. Former quarterback Drew Hawkins left the program after suffering a concussion while playing softball this summer. He had a history of concussions.

Backup quarterback Mike Coughlin "dinged" his head, in head coach Chris Petersen's words, on his first play of the Hawaii game. He was not allowed to return to the game, but he played the next week against San Jose State.

"We're as cautious as we can be," said Petersen, who is certain he suffered some unreported concussions during his playing career.

Paul said in the past, trainers would give a player Advil and have them back at practice the next day.

LONG ROAD BACK TO THE END ZONE

Kaiserman said this was his first diagnosed concussion, but that after going through the experience, he believes he might have had previous ones. The concussion has not changed the way he plays, he said, but it does have an impact.

"What it has changed is I think I'm more in tuned to how my body is feeling. If I take a big hit, I might sit there and think about it. Am I really all right? Yeah, I'm good," Kaiserman said.

After two months of lingering symptoms, worry, tests and false starts about getting back on the field, Kaiserman was cleared to return for the Oct. 14 game at Tulsa. He got his first playing time at Hawaii on Oct. 24 and rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown.

Kaiserman's helmet popped off several times during the game and, as a straight-ahead runner, he took some big hits.

"My adrenaline kicked up so much that I didn't even think about it," he said. "That's just the way you have to play. You've got to put it behind you if you're going to go out there and compete.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444