Things that are different today than when I played:

- Pads were HUGE. Shoulder pads were so big I could hardly raise my arms. Knee pads actually covered the entire knee. Hip pads seemed to almost reach my armpits - lol.
- Everybody played with a "rung bell" (i.e. concussion). As long as you knew the current day and could identify how many fingers Coach was holding up, you were thrown back into the fray.
- Water was a privilege and the lack thereof was considered part of conditioning. I remember playing through heat-induced headaches and occasional blurry vision. Coach refused to let us have a water break until we ran the same play 10X to perfection. If one kid messed up or looked to be giving less than 100% we would start over again at 1. I remember hitting the water station and my body just craving to stay a little longer.
- Playbooks were much simpler. Strategy was mostly left to the coaches, with fewer player options/audibles. Players were expected to simply execute the plays that coaches called.
- The physicality is different. Players were heralded for targeting a receiver's head and trying to separate his helmet from his body. It was "anything goes" between whistles - obviously not clipping or face-masking, but even if you were 50 yards from the ball you were expected to go head-hunting and try to punish the opposition.
- Player size/speed. My high school O-line probably averaged 6'1" and 230 pounds. The fastest player on our high school team (at a really big school) ran a 4.6 40.

How has the game changed since you played?