Rules changes for high school, college football

The rules makers are out with their tweaks for 2012. The college ones are proposals. The high school ones will go into effect.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2012-02-09/committee-proposes-new-rules

The college ones need to be approved at a higher level Feb. 21 but a couple of big ones.

* Kickoff would be moved from the 30-yard line to the 35 with the kicking team starting no more than 5 yards back. The biggie: Touchbacks would go from the 20 to the 25. Comment: They want more touchbacks, but moving it from the 20 to 25 won't help that. If you want more touchbacks, have the receiving team start at the 15.

* If you lose your helmet during a play (other than a foul by the opponent like a face mask), you're out one play. Previously, you only sat out one play if the game was stopped because of an injury. Comment: Love this.

* Shield blocking scheme on punts are gone. This where you've got three players in the backfield in front of the punter. A receiving team player would try to jump over the scheme in trying to block the punt and was getting flipped and landing on his head and shoulders. Comment: Good.

High school is not adopting the 25-yard line for touchbacks, but there are eight changes, a lot of them safety.

http://prepinsiders.blogspot.com/2012/02/prep-football-players-must-sit-one-play.html

The big ones:

* Just like the NCAA proposal, if a player's helmet comes off while the ball is live he has to sit out one play. As previously said (and as someone who officiates high school football), this is an excellent rule.

* The force-out on a catch is gone. Yup, high school still had it where if it was determined the receiver would have come down in bounds with a catch but was forced out by the defense, then it was a catch. No more. You have to get a foot down whether you are pushed out or not. Comment: Comes in line with the NFL and college. A good change.

* On kickoffs, the kicking team cannot initiate blocking against the receiving team until the ball has gone 10 yards or until the kicking team is eligible to recover the kick (it touches the receiving team within the first 10 yards). Comment: This will stop the cheap shots that happen on onside kicks, but also make it tougher for the kicking team to get the onside kick. It will be tough to enforce, but on onside kicks, you'll see the receiving team doing the blocking to get the kick. And you won't see the squibblers by the kicker and three guys around him blocking while waiting for the ball to go 10 yards. Comment: A good change, but again, tough to enforce.

* Other things are minor: Corporate advertising is allowed on the field, as long as the yard lines, numbers and hash marks aren't covered; blocking below the waist tweaked to where it doesn't matter where the hands of the opponent first contact; play cards have to be on the wrist or arm, no longer on the belt; face mask penalty expanded to include grasping the mouth protector; another revision to the horse collar rule that adds the direction the opponent was pulled down.

 

What's the incentive of the kicking team to give the receiving team a touchback if the starting line is the 25? I think you'll see a lot of kickoffs to the 1 or the goal line and force the receiving team to have a runback in the hopes of the kicking team of stopping them before the 25. So I think you'll see a lot fewer touchbacks, not more.

They should have just moved the kicking line up to the 35 and left the starting line at the 20.

 

Only if the ball breaks the plane in high school. Body isn't the factor.

 

I see it a lot. Especially with them kicking from the 40.