Football Official

Football Official

Zebra

Somewhere in, NJ

Male, 62

I've officiated football for over 30 years, now in my 26th on the college level. I've worked NCAA playoffs at the Division II and III level. In addition, I've coached at the scholastic level and have been an educator for over 35 years. I have no interest whatsoever in being an NFL official! Ever!

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Last Answer on January 23, 2021

Best Rated

Under NCAA rules, if a receiver is forced out of bounds by a defender at what point is the receiver allowed to touch the ball on a forward pass? Does the receiver first need to re-establish himself in-bounds? If the receiver has yet to set foot in-bounds, he first touches the ball while both feet are in the air, he gets both feet in bounds while reeling in the ball and then controls the ball to the ground, is this a completion? Here’s an example to see exactly what happened (38-second mark): https://youtu.be/JvckMTak2Y4?t=38s Here’s another angle (2 minutes, 50 seconds): https://youtu.be/jjZRFng-6nI?t=2m50s This was ruled a touchdown. Thanks!

Asked by Bass over 8 years ago

If a receiver is forced out of bounds he must return immediately to regain eligibility. If he goes out on his own, then a defender must first touch the ball before the receiver can. He must re-establish himself (on the ground) so catching in the air after going out of bounds makes the ball dead when he hits the ground. Sorry, but I couldn't access the video.

I saw a touchdown called today where the receiver went out of bounds but whip one foot around and hit the goal marker. The ball didn't "Break the plane". Righteous call or miss.

Asked by John Morris over 8 years ago

There are a lot of possibilities here, so let's look at what you're saying. If the player stepped out of bounds before the ball crossed the plane of the goal line, then yes, it was called a TD in error. However, if the player was outside of the pylon (out of bounds) but the ball stayed inside the pylon when crossing the plane, it is a TD. In your description, the player was out of bounds but he clipped the pylon with a foot - where was the ball? If the player dove at the pylon and struck it with his body even with the ball outside the pylon (the goal line extended), it is a TD.

Ala - Aub. The kickoff touched in field of play by Ala player rolls into end zone. If not brought out by other player, that would have been a safety, right?

Asked by skub over 8 years ago

I'm reading an Auburn KO. If it is touched by Ala in the field of play it is still a kick. If it goes into the endzone and is covered by Alabama, it is a touchback. It was the kick that put the ball in the endzone.

Would you say it was hard to get into officiating. I am interested in it at a local level (middle/high school). I am 27 and work a full time job. I don't want to do it for the money. More like a hobby. Do you have any advise on how to get started?

Asked by Kenneth over 8 years ago

It's pretty easy to get in - staying is the hard part. Everybody working high school, college, or even the NFL has another job. When you start out, you may need an understanding boss because there may be JV or freshmen games in the afternoon.

Getting started: you can contact your state's high school athletic governing body and get contact information for the football officials group. That group does the training and registers you with the state so that you are "certified" as a HS official. If you aren't sure what the state body is, contact your local high school athletic director for a phone number.

By the way, it's a good thing you don't want to do it for the money. Even guys working every week in one of the P5 NCAA conferences might make $25,000, before expenses. You don't get rich doing this.

During the Vikings - Seahawks game (4th Quarter), a play when Kyle Rudolph contacted Kam Chancellor and they flagged Chancellor for pass interference, please settle a minor debate, was this actually PI or since Rudolph initiated contact, not PI?

Asked by Justin N over 8 years ago

Initiating contact isn't the issue. Any PI call is based on advantage/disadvantage. Did the receiver create separation? did he gain an advantage with the contact? Likewise, did the defender impede the receiver from making a play on the ball. The initial contact by Rudolph may not have impacted the play. The contact by Chancellor was deemed to have been interference.

So if a quarterback goes into his proverbial slide and the defender slaps the ball out of his hand without actually touching the quarterback while he's on the ground would it be a fumble or dead ball?

Asked by Shane snow over 8 years ago

Dead ball. Might even be consider unsportsmanlike. The beginning of the slide is where the ball gets spotted next, not where the QB ends up. So, in essence the ball and the QB are down at the start of the slide.

in the recent lsu/fla game a fake field goal was performed by lsu..upon receiving the snap the holder immediatley threw a pass to the kicker while his knee was down..should he have raised up before throwing for this to be a fair play..

Asked by Philip over 8 years ago

Nope. If he went up to catch a high snap, he can still return to hold the snap. He could also throw as you describe. If he stands (for no other reason than he wants to) and then returns to the ground, he is down. Dead ball.