Friday's health and safety news from the world of football:
- USA Today featuredDenver Broncos guard Ben Garland, who is an Air Force veteran who hopes the league's "Salute to Service" will give fans pause to think about the military's impact on their lives.
- Buccaneers.com reported that Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson was nominated for the league's Salute to Service Award.
- ESPN profiledDenver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who dreams of reuniting his estranged family.
- St. Louis Public Radio featured former NFL player and minister Joe Erhmann, who is helping the NFL deal with personal conduct issues.
- WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia, looked at the helmet testing process at Virginia Tech.
- KWTX-TV in Waco, Texas, examined the football helmets that area high schools were using and if they met the Virginia Tech STAR ratings.
- WBMA-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, reported how area high school football coaches have signed a pledge for player safety.
- USA Today Sports featured EON Sports VR, which is trying to bring virtual reality to play calling for high school teams.
- KDVR-TV in Denver reported that a researcher from the Colorado School of Health will say that injury rates are declining.
- KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas, reported that University of Texas researchers received a $17 million grant to study traumatic brain injuries.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor