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Lucas: New college football rules emphasize player safety

Mike Lucas  —  3/03/2008 8:47 am

If Big Ten football officials are looking for a training video to enhance their preparation for the 2008 season -- specifically targeting the points of emphasis as mandated by the NCAA rules committee -- they need look no further than the Big Ten Network for assistance; an odd starting point, to be sure. Yet, for months, the BTN has been running a "highlight'' loop, which has included a helmet-to-helmet collision between Michigan State strong safety Nehemiah Warrick, the aggressor, and University of Wisconsin receiver Kyle Jefferson, the victim.

Because the spindly Jefferson was so vulnerable on the play -- which took place in the Sept. 29 game between the Spartans and the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium -- the UW freshman was fortunate that he was able to "escape'' the collision with "only'' a concussion. Even though Michigan State should have been penalized 15 yards based on the written rule and interpretation, Warrick was not flagged on the "illegal" hit and the BTN summarily opted to make the hit a part of its marketing presentation; a curious move to say the least. Especially now that NCAA rule makers have directed game officials to strictly penalize this type of contact.

In a recent memo to college football coaches and administrators, Southeast Conference coordinator of officials Rogers Redding noted, "The committee is giving our game officials more tools to penalize potentially dangerous contact. Specifically, the committee is addressing players that use the crown of their helmet and players that target defenseless opponents when making contact above the shoulders."

In general, there will be a renewed emphasis on player safety as part of the rule changes that have been recommended for 2008. That includes a simplification of the chop block rule; a high-low or low-high combination block by any two players against an opponent anywhere on the field. College football is also following the NFL lead on eliminating the "horse collar" tackle; probibiting defensive players from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, although this does not apply to a runner who's inside the tackle box or a quarterback who's in the pocket.

As part of the proposed legislation -- which must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel -- all face mask fouls will be 15 yards. And there is a distinction: incidental contact will no longer be penalized as long as the player doesn't pull, twist or jerk the face mask. "I think that's a good rule," said UW athletic director Barry Alvarez. "Now, if you tackle someone and you have your hand or arm across the facemask, you're not going to be penalized for the inadvertent contact. That's why you have a face mask -- for protection. But if you grab the mask, now it's an automatic 15 yards."

There are a couple of new timing proposals that could potentially have a significant impact on the game itself. One is the 40/25 second play clock, which has also been adopted from the NFL. The objective is to create more consistency in how the game is managed by the referee who's responsible for readying the ball for play. "It eliminates the inconsistency of an official winding the clock," Alvarez confirmed. "You've had different officials with different tempos. Now, you can get into a rhythm and you'll know exactly when the clock is cranked. I've always been in favor of it."

The 40-second clock would start after incomplete passes and all dead-ball situations (inbounds or out-of-bounds). "If the NFL boys are doing it, we seem to want to do it, too," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Added Spurrier, who had a short and unsuccessful NFL coaching stint with the Washington Redskins, "I think it (40-second clock) favors the teams that run the no-huddle. That gives the quarterback a bunch more time to stand up there and read the defense."

Meanwhile, the 25-second clock would still apply after penalty walk-offs, timeouts, measurements, a change of possession or instant replay reviews. Regarding the latter, if a coach wins the review, he would get one extra one challenge (with a maximum of two challenges per game). Under the old rule, a coach got one challenge, period; whether he won or lost the review. To this end, challenging some of the proposed legislation, Alvarez is unhappy with another prospective timing issue: after a runner goes out of bounds, the clock will now start on the signal of the referee, rather than on the snap (except in the final two minutes of each half).

"I don't like it because it changes the game," Alvarez said. "If you're down by two touchdowns, the new rule might take a possession away from you. If you're behind, you can't lengthen the game by using the boundary. I know they're looking for different ways to reduce the length of our games. But you have to put some thought into these things. Or you'll wind up changing the rule the following year when you realize it was a mistake to change it in the first place."

Alvarez was referring to the decision to start the clock on kickoffs when the ball was kicked rather than received; a flawed rule that was exposed by UW football coach Bret Bielema in a 2006 game against Penn State. While cutting back on the average length of games that season, the rule changes also resulted in fewer offensive plays and points, which drew the ire of coaches whose protests got the rules rescinded. Games averaged 3 hours and 22 minutes last season as opposed to 3:07 in '06.

Until further notice (the Playing Rules Oversight Panel will not address the new proposals until April), coaches will experiment with the changes during spring practice. LSU, Miami (Fla.), Stanford and Mississippi State, among others, have already begun drills. Wisconsin will open practice Saturday, the first Big Ten team to do so. For now, there has been no indication from the football staff that guard Michael Flowers is in their immediate plans as a quarterback following the completion of the UW basketball season. Nonetheless, the topic was broached by ESPN's Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin during last Thursday night's telecast of the Michigan State-Wisconsin game.

"All I told them," said Alvarez, who innocently planted the seed, "was that Michael Flowers was a helluva football player coming out of high school (Madison La Follette) and I told them he was going to be a nationally recruited player in football before he committed to basketball. He could have been a great spread quarterback, because he's what you're looking for, he's your prototype. I think he could have also played cornerback. That's all I said."

As a caveat, Alvarez stressed, "I like the way he's playing basketball right now." Enough said, he said.

Mike Lucas  —  3/03/2008 8:47 am