Preparing For Impact

Ruben Hyppolite II and Dante Trader Jr. are two Maryland football players using Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) to reduce the risk and severity of traumatic brain injury on the football field. 

Hyppolite, a fifth-year linebacker, and Trader, a senior safety, partnered with Q30 Innovations. The company manufactures the Q-Collar, a horseshoe-shaped device athletes wear around the lower neck to help protect their brains from head impacts. 

The Q-Collar is a simple and safe device that applies light pressure to the jugular veins. The pressure causes a slight increase in blood volume inside the head and helps reduce the brain's movement upon impact, which is the primary cause of brain injury.

The device is the only FDA-cleared sports and tactical equipment proven to help protect brains from repetitive head trauma. Q-Collar is a safe, easy-to-add layer of protection that fits comfortably with other gear for athletes in any sport at any level. 

“It's marketed well, there's science to back it and I think it's just a great product,” Hyppolite said. “For anyone playing contact sports, if they want to continue to have great longevity and a great quality of life, it's a device that they should definitely wear.”

According to their website, Q30 Innovations claims that the Q-Collar can reduce the likelihood of brain damage from contact sports over a season of play by up to 66%. The data is based on independent clinical research using Cincinnati Children's Hospital MRI brain scans comparing collared and non-collared athletes.

Many professional athletes across various sports wear the Q-Collar. Many other current and former professional athletes are athletic advisors for Q30 innovations, including former Maryland women’s lacrosse and football phenoms Taylor Cummings and Vernon Davis. Furthermore, several former Maryland men’s and women’s lacrosse student-athletes have done deals with Q-Collar, including Luke Wierman, Emily Sterling and Shaylan Ahearn.

“The biggest thing professional athletes tell you about is taking care of your body,” Trader said. “When you see high-level elite athletes using it and taking their game to another level on their health side, it definitely has an impact on you.” 

Hyppolite and Trader wore the Q-Collar for the first time during a game in their 50-7 win over UConn at SECU Stadium on Aug. 31. They will both continue wearing it the rest of the season and encourage other athletes to purchase one. 

“It presses on the side of my neck, on both sides,” Hyppolite said. “But it doesn't feel uncomfortable. It doesn't feel restricting. It's not limiting my movement or any range of motion. I barely feel it when I'm playing or know it's there.”

Both student-athletes acknowledge the risk associated with football each time they step between the white lines. To minimize that risk, Hyppolite and Trader will continue to support practical ways to make the game safer. 

With Q-Collar, Hyppolite and Trader are preparing for impact.  

“That’s the biggest thing, longevity,” Trader said. “If it could help me stay in the game longer, that matters most to me.”