NATCHITOCHES – As one of the world's foremost experts on brain injury, Natchitoches native and former Northwestern State football player Dr. Julian Bailes is a gifted man.
 
Ahead of the 2025 Northwestern football season, Bailes has taken those gifts and returned them in kind to the Demons, helping provide a Q-Collar for every player on the roster.
 
"(Natchitoches lawyer) Billy West, who is obviously really, really good friends with Dr. Bailes, made the introduction," second-year head coach Blaine McCorkle said. "Dr. Bailes came in town (last year), and he had a meeting with our staff just to educate us on concussions. Just the knowledge was unbelievable, and that led from one thing to another, including the discussions about the Q-Collar. When he came back this spring, there were more discussions and it kind of grew into an opportunity for him to provide our whole team with Q-Collars."
 
The Demons already are reaping the benefits from the technology Bailes and David and Dr. Jennifer Thornton helped deliver to Natchitoches.
 
McCorkle said concussion incidents through fall camp were among the lowest he could remember throughout his multiple decades of college coaching.
 
The Q-Collars and the custom-fit Schutt helmets the Demons ordered played roles in that number shrinking while the Q-Collars themselves have improved ho some of the Demons feel during collisions.
 
"Before I was wearing the Q-Collar, I'd take a big hit and feel a little rung up and it would take a little bit to get back to the huddle, but the Q-Collar allows you to play with confidence," sophomore offensive tackle Garrett Morphis said. "You can take big hits or you can lay big hits and your head doesn't hurt after the play. I think it does its job, so I can do my job at a high level."
 
The Q-Collar is worn around the neck and applies light pressure to the neck, which causes a partial occlusion to the jugular veins and a slight increase of blood volume inside the head, which helps reduce the brain's movement upon impact.
 
As training camp progressed, the Demons who used their newest piece of equipment quickly adjusted to it.
 
"I've gotten really comfortable wearing it," sophomore safety Kaden Mackey said. "When I hit, I don't even feel anything, so it's amazing."
 
With Bailes' involvement in the development of the Q-Collar, a partnership with his hometown university made sentimental sense. The execution of it re-emphasized a message McCorkle has shared with his team throughout his 21-month tenure as the head Demon.
 
"We talk about 'The Link' we wear all the time and, it seems like he's a teammate as well," Mackey said. "Him donating it shows a lot of love. He wants us to play free because he loves the game."
 
While the meeting between McCorkle and Bailes helped lead to the addition of the Q-Collars, it also gave McCorkle insight into what has helped Bailes relay his expertise to any and everyone.
 
"Dr. Bailes, obviously, he's brilliant, and he has a lot of information and a lot of things that we've never heard, thought of or even knew existed, but he has a unique way of making it make sense," McCorkle said. "He kind of boils that cabbage down so the lay person – the simple football coach like myself – can really understand it. That's a gift – to be able to communicate that way. Every time he shows up or we have a chance to visit or listen to him present, you take something different away."