UPDATE: Watch Kyle's appearance on CBS This Morning here.

USA Football is pioneering a new level of football to make the game of football safer for the next generation of student-athletes. 

Chuck Kyle '69, Saint Ignatius' longtime head football coach, is at the forefront of the effort. 

USA Football unveiled a new pilot program today called "Rookie Tackle." The program, explained fully here, proposes to offer a bridge between flag and tackle football, complete with smaller fields, fewer players, and more coaching. 

Eleven pilot leagues will test the viability of the bridge game. Kyle has worked extensively with one of the leagues, Cleveland Rookie Tackle, which is held in Mentor. (Watch this video from a game in May to see the game in action, with an appearance from Kyle.)

"It's a game that teaches so much," Kyle said. "It's a great education, it's a stepping stone. It's a transition to 11-man football and I can't think of a better game that does it."

Kyle has played a large part in developing and helping with the program and will continue to do so, through his role as Youth Football Advisor for the Cleveland Browns. The 34-year head football coach has worked with the Browns for the past year in making football safer for young players. 

As NFL.com noted in an article today, Kyle's efforts have made the Browns the first NFL team to assist USA Football's effort to found the Rookie Tackle program.  

CBS News recently interviewed Kyle for its morning news show, CBS This Morning. The interview, originally slated to air today, will air soon after breaking news this morning postponed the feature story. 

Kyle also attended the groundbreaking for John Marshall High School's new field on Tuesday evening. Kyle, a former Wildcat football player, once played on the field when Saint Ignatius used it as a home field.

John Marshall's stadium will receive a facelift and new synthetic turf, thanks to the Cleveland Browns and the Haslam Family. The Lawyers' field is the fifth of five fields gifted by the Browns and the Haslams.  

"This will be the centerpiece of activity in the community," Kyle told the Lakewood Observer in front of the field's stands.