HOOVER, Ala. — The heightened awareness about head injuries in football has resulted in rules changes for the 2012 college season.
To limit the violent collisions on kick returns, touchbacks will be encouraged. Kickoffs will be moved up to the 35-yard line from the 30, and touchbacks will come out to the 25 instead of the traditional 20-yard-line start position.
Southeastern Conference coordinator of officiating Steve Shaw discussed the changes Wednesday to open the second day of SEC Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel. He said the changes were made because there is a “higher potential of injury) on a kickoff compared to a play from the line of scrimmage.
“There’s going to be work around making the kickoff safer,” Shaw said.
When former Rutgers University player Eric LeGrand was paralyzed as a result of an injury sustained during a kickoff in 2010, then Rutgers coach Greg Schiano advocated for the removal of kickoffs from the game. He found some support for eliminating kickoffs, including University of Georgia coach Mark Richt.
“I think it’s important you recognize chronic trauma,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “I think mistakes have been made in the past. It’s something we as coaches and trainers are responsible to address. I think we’re doing diligence on that. It’s a very serious issue. I have two sons that play football. I recognize when they put on that helmet it’s different. There’s other sports that are less combative.”
University of Florida coach Will Muschamp said the Gators will work with preseason first-team All-SEC kicker Caleb Sturgis on the sky kick to try to pin opponents inside the 20-yard-line.
“We talked about directional kicks with height to see if we can pin them back even further,” the Gators’ second-year coach said.
Also, on onside kickoffs late in games, the high-bounce kick likely will go away with a rule that affords the receiver protection against the hit. A receiver of an onsides kick now can catch the ball without interference.
“That will take the one-hop kick out of the game,” Shaw said.
Shaw also said a rule change that protects punt returners with a modified halo system that gives him protected space of 1 yard in front and a shoulder width across should limit the frequency of players launching into punt returners.
“They were trying to time (the hit) to blow up the receiver,” Shaw said. “This will be safer for the defenseless player.”
College football is also trying to keep helmets on players. If a player loses his helmet during a play, he’ll sit out one snap.
“It’s almost been an alarming rate they’ve been coming off,” Shaw said. “It’s becoming a significant issue.”
A player who loses his helmet will be allowed to continue his action, but if he continues with the play beyond that action, a 15-yard penalty will be assessed.
“Playing time is the most precious commodity to players, so we think that will give them incentive to get these buckled up and fitted properly,” Shaw said. “If your helmet comes off … you have to leave the game for one play. There are no exceptions. You can’t buy a player back in with a timeout. You have to go out.”
Shaw ended his speech with a strong indication “coaches’ sideline behavior” will be closely monitored this season.
“We have great coaches in this league, and we don’t think there will be anything here for us,” Shaw said. “But I think nationally we’ve all agreed anytime the coaches’ behavior on the sideline is demeaning to the game we have to deal with it, and we will.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.