http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/5956541.htmlHorse-collar tackle deemed a penalty by NCAA
Chop block gets clarification; play clock altered
Chronicle News Services
Aug. 20, 2008, 9:12PM
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has banned the horse-collar tackle from college football.
Following the lead of the NFL and acting on a proposal made by its Football Rules Committee, the NCAA will assess a penalty this season when a runner is yanked to the ground from the inside collar of his shoulder pads or jersey.
Other changes announced Wednesday include a clarification of rules on chop blocks, or tackling below the knees, and implementation of a 40-second play clock that will start as soon as the ball is ruled dead.
Previously, a 25-second clock began only on the referee’s signal.
The NCAA also will emphasize consistency in officiating, including blending crews from different conferences.
Rogers Redding, NCAA football secretary-rules editor and coordinator of football officials for the Southeastern Conference, said the horse-collar ban may result in fewer back injuries.
“What we’re hearing from trainers and physicians is we’re getting some back injuries when the ball carrier is immediately snapped to the ground by being jerked quickly,” Redding said. “If the ball carrier is grabbed by the shoulder or jersey and just ridden to the ground over a couple of yards, that’s not going to be a foul.”
The chop block will now be defined as any high-low combination block by any two players against an opponent other than the runner, anywhere on the field, anytime in the game and with or without a delay between the hits, Redding said.
In other news
• Lobos put on probation — The NCAA put New Mexico’s football program on three years of probation and cut five scholarships as punishment for academic violations involving two former assistant coaches.
The NCAA concluded that the former Lobos assistants in 2004 improperly helped three recruits obtain fraudulent academic credits through correspondence courses they never completed at Fresno Pacific University, a fully accredited college in California that offers online degrees.
Lobos head coach Rocky Long was not accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
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