Norman North Football Team Equipped With New Core-Fitting Rib Shield For Safety On The Gridiron

A Florida dad, who lost his son in a horrific football accident, is now making it his mission to save other athletes' lives.

Before these kids hit the gridiron, they're getting a new piece of equipment. On Friday, the Norman North football team got fitted for a rib shield.

"It will form fit to their core, and so then every practice and game they will use it, and it's like another form of armor," Justin Jones, Norman North's head football coach, said.

"It's pretty tight fitting, but it's also lightweight," Owen Eshelman, Norman North's quarterback, said. He said the guard around his ribs is moveable.

"You take a lot of hits to the ribs as a quarterback," Eshelman said.

And the other QB who would know what that is like is OU Quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

"The ribs are where you always get hit," Gabriel said.

Gabriel said he's used this type of product without it ever affecting his range of motion.

On Friday, he helped the guys get fitted with fellow teammate Jalil Farooq.

They also got to talk with Taylor Haugen's father. "My wife and I did a ton of research to see which products are best," Brian Haugen said.

Brian created the Taylor Hagen Foundation after his 15-year-old son died of abdominal injury sustained while playing football.

"I want to ensure that no parent has to go through what we went through. We have a life mission to make sure we better protect our kids," Haugen said. 

Brian adds that about 7,000 athletes have been fitted for this type of rib shield.