Football season is here and though we are enthusiastic about its inevitable beginning, injuries plague star players in the preseason.

This year, two notable injuries have already occurred within the teams at the three high schools in Pearl River County, both are starters for their respective team and both are recovering from ACL tears.

It’s a tough injury to mend, but even harder when it happens in the preseason of your senior year.

With so many injuries occurring in the spring, it begs the question, are preseason games doing more harm than good?

It’s a question that also been considered by the NFL for the past couple of years, but no changes have been made. The NFL either does not think it is an issue or perhaps nothing can be done.

The preseason is important and has its advantages, but its the disadvantages that trouble me.

We see it all the time in the NFL, players being carted off the field with what looks like a season-ending injury. It happens way too often. It even happened to me during my time on the field.

My senior year, I was fighting for a loose ball at the 50-yardline when opposing players piled on top of me. As I continued to scrap my way to the ball, my legs got tangled in the traffic. The result: a torn ACL.

It’s the coach’s discretion whether to participate in preseason games or not. It benefits the younger athletes, but if I were a coach, the seniors would be focused on learning new plays and working out to build muscle, not participating in preseason games in May.  I’d rather have seniors playing extra games in November.