Byrum fell on the ball after the onside kick. I was under the impression that the kicker couldn't be the first player to touch the ball. Am I mistaken?
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Question: Can the kicker be the first player to touch the ball on an onside kick?
- Thread starter RJ YellowHammer
- Start date
On kickoffs, the ball is live once it has travelled forward 10 yards whether or not the receiving team has touched it unless it hits the ground in the end zone untouched. If a team is behind late in the game and they score a touchdown or field goal, they sometimes use an on-side kick for the following kickoff. An on-side kick is a kickoff that is deliberately designed to go just over 10 yards.
On punts, if the returner lets the ball roll, and the kick team downs it, the ball belongs to the receiving team. Are the rules different for kickoffs?
Yes, on kickoffs the ball is always live between ten yards traveled and the goal line. A receiver can call a fair catch on a ball caught in the air though.
I understand that....I was asking if the kicker himself could be the first person to make contact with the live ball after it had traveled 10 yards
Yes. A punt isn't live unless it is touched by a player on the receiving team. Also, a recovered onside kick can't be advanced.
Yes the kicker can be the first one to touch the ball. My question comes from the fair catch rule. If the kicker doesn't kick the ball into the ground like Auburn's kicker did, but kicked it up and to the sideline like tennessee did. Why doesn't one of the receiveing teams players call for a fair catch? Had Julio done that, wouldn't Tennessee have got a penalty for interfering with a fair catch, and it would have been our ball?
Tennessee kicked the ball into the ground; it just happened to bounce extremely high after contact with the turf. A very well executed (or lucky) kick.
A related question: Recalling the penalty JA received for supposedly calling a fair catch on a punt were the ball had hit the ground (i.e., delay of game penalty when he was waiving off the other players to get out of the way), can a player call a fair catch on an onside kick? Even if the ball has hit the ground? Or is bouncing but not rolling? Frankly, I was a little shocked that you could call a fair catch on a punt after it had hit the ground.
The refs did not rule Javy had called a fair catch after the ball hit the ground. They ruled he called it before it hit the ground.
My understanding is the refs are trying to prevent returners from calling a fair catch in order to slow down the gunners and then pick up the ball up and run.
You cannot fair catch an onside kick once it has touched the ground. As long as it's traveled 10 yards, it's a live ball and anyone on the field can recover it, though only the receiving team can advance it.
As far as punts are concerned, the returner cannot fair catch the ball once it has made contact with the ground. That penalty was called on Javy because his gesture was considered an 'invalid signal.' Here's an excellent write-up that explains the rule and, unfortunately, validates the ref's call.
You missed the point of the question (and maybe I miss phrased it) - I thought once the ball had hit the ground the fair catch was off?
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I have a slightly different twist on this same question... in the slo-mo replay I saw on ESPN (I was at the game so didn't see it on TV) it seemed the ball bounced off the ground after it was kicked and hit the kicker on the side of the leg.... would that count as illegal touching since it happened within 10 yards?
JA gave the "getaway" signal, which by rule, is an invalid fair catch signal. When that happens, the receiver loses protection and cannot advance the kick. He ran with the ball, he was running with a dead ball and penalized for delay of game.
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I see this rule being broken over and over now. So any arm waving by the receiver is a fair catch signal now, no matter the position of the arms?
I would think this would be emphasized be the special teams coaches as part of punt receiving 101 class. Just yell at your teammates and keep your arms down unless you're going to catch it or the ball is sailing over your head near the endzone.
My answer may have been confusing. An invalid fair catch signal is not a foul (under NCAA Rules). You just lose protection and can't advance. Most receivers who give that signal let the ball roll dead. They get in trouble when they try to advance after giving any signal. I have seen this happen and get shut down in several games this year.
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Sorry if my questions are dense here, I just want to get this straight in my head.
Is the ball immediately blown dead at that position?
"You just lose protection" Does this mean the receiver can be legally hit by an opposing player but still can't advance the ball?
I replayed it on my TiVo a few dozen times. I could not be absolutely sure it hit his leg, but it was really really really close. perhaps some different angles could answer that. And my understanding is that if the ball touches a member of the kicking team before it goes 10 yards, is a penalty and re-kick
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