Almost exactly six months ago I wrote an opinion column about the ever-changing rulebook in college and professional football. In this column, which you may or may not have read, I threw my own pity party about college football adopting the same helmet-to-helmet contact rules that the NFL implemented some years ago in an effort to protect player safety.

I’m writing this column, after being glued to a football-filled TV set this past weekend, to eat my words.

In a matter of a few days, all the clamor over the recent Bowl Championship Series poll and scandalous agent-player relationships took a frightening back seat to a handful of violent collisions that left players concussed, unconscious and in one case, paralyzed.

Covering a kickoff late in a tight contest between Rutgers and Army, Rutgers defender Eric LeGrand made what seemed to be a routine tackle.

Unfortunately, LeGrand’s big hit was made almost entirely with his helmet and neck, and the aftermath of the Rugters defensive tackle laying motionless on the turf was chilling.

Since the scary scene, doctors have announced LeGrand is paralyzed from the neck down, and the long road to an uncertain recovery for the junior doesn’t look promising.

Just 24 hours later and an hour drive away, Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson delivered a hammer to star Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson.

While hauling in the catch, Robinson led his hit with the crown of his helmet, and as a result both players collapsed on the field and didn’t immediately get up.

These incidents have woken up viewers across the country and both the NFL and NCAA have seen enough, as have I.

I am drawn to football for the same reasons as everyone else: I live for the flashy plays, the raucous crowds, the pageantry. But, above all else, I watch for the huge hits, the quarterback sacks, the blindside pancake blocks. There comes a point, however, when a big hit becomes a dangerous hit, and the NFL and NCAA are taking the proper measures to ensure players are both protected and protect themselves.

If an NFL player is determined to be delivering a blatant and dangerous hit, with or without helmet-to-helmet contact, he will immediately serve a suspension. Don’t be surprised if soon the NCAA follows suit, as it has a tradition in taking note of serious NFL policies.

Will rules ever erase or eliminate players from sustaining these horrific injuries? Absolutely not. Football is a game centered around violence. The more violent a player is, more often than not, the better he plays.

The rule modifications are more or less a wakeup call to players to “hit what you see and see what you hit,” meaning never use a helmet as a means to tackle, block or hit.

I argued six months ago in my column that the rule change on wedge blocks during kick returns was ludicrous and would steal the excitement from the game, not protect players.

But now I can’t help but argue that as much as we enjoy those huge hits and helmet-cracking pops, officials from both levels are doing the right thing in protecting players from both suffering such horrific injuries and sparing viewers from the disturbing images such as LeGrand’s on Saturday.