It is rare to have a football game without at least five punts. In most games, it is the most frequent kicking play that will occur. Because punts are so common, a brush-up on some of the aspects of punts is in order.
A punt is a scrimmage kick. A legal scrimmage kick must be made from in or behind the neutral zone before team possession has changed. A punt is used to improve field position before turning possession of the ball over to the opponents and can never score.
A kicker is any player who legally punts. A player becomes a kicker when his knee, lower leg or foot makes contact with the ball. He continues to be the kicker until he has had reasonable opportunity to regain his balance.
Protection. Even more so than the passer, punters are especially vulnerable and the intent of the rules is to provide them special protection. That protection lasts until the kicker has had reasonable opportunity to regain his balance. Illegally contacting the kicker or holder can be a personal foul for roughing, a 15-yard penalty with an automatic first down. A lesser penalty, running into the kicker, may be called if the kicker or holder is displaced from his position but not roughed. That is a 5-yard penalty without an automatic first down. When in doubt, the penalty is roughing.
Play 1: Fourth and 10 on team K's 20 yardline. After K1's kick is in flight, R3 (without touching the ball) (a) tries to avoid K1, but runs into him, causing K1 to lose his balance and fall to the ground; or (b) violently charges into K1, knocking him down. Ruling 1: In (a), the referee would most likely call a 5-yard foul for running into K1. If the penalty is accepted, it will be fourth and five for team K on team K's 25 yardline. In (b), R3 is guilty of a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker. Team K will likely accept the penalty, yielding first and 10 for team K on its 35 yardline.
Incidental contact is not a foul, but a foul should be called if the contact is sufficient and it could have been avoided regardless of whether it was apparent a kick would be made.
Play 2: K1 in punt formation moves laterally two or three steps to recover an errant snap or recovers a snap over his head. K1 then punts and is run over by R7. Ruling 2: That is a judgment call. The judgment as to whether a foul occurred can be complicated by an unexpected kick, by the blocking or touching of the kick or when a defender is blocked into the kicker or holder by a team R player. The key is determining if there was any way R7 could have avoided the contact while doing what he was supposed to be doing. If there was, you must decide whether he tried to avoid the punter.
Sometimes players will be blocked into the kicker or holder. If contact is caused solely by a defender who is blocked into the kicker or holder, the rules say the defender is absolved from responsibility.
Play 3: As K1 punts, K7 blocks R5, causing R5 to (a) run into K1, who loses his balance and falls to the ground, or (b) charge into K1, knocking him down. Ruling 3: In (a), no foul. In (b), no foul if you judge the contact was solely a result of the block. But if you feel R5's actions caused the contact to be more severe than it should have been, call roughing.
Touching of the kick by the defense is generally an excuse for contacting the kicker. The ball must be touched near the spot of the kick and the defender may not stop and renew his charge into the kicker nor may he change direction. Touching the kicked ball is, in itself, not license to whack the kicker. If the player who contacts the kicker is not the player who touched the kick, the contact may be excused if a defensive player was so near the kick that he could not avoid contact with the kicker.
Recovering a punt. Any team R player may catch or recover a punt in the field of play and advance, unless any member of the receiving team has given a valid or invalid fair-catch signal. Team R may catch or recover a punt in team K's end zone.
Any team K player may catch or recover a punt while it is in or behind the neutral zone and advance. If team R touches a punt while clearly beyond the neutral zone at the time of touching, team K may recover but not advance. A catch or recovery by team K beyond the neutral zone causes the ball to become dead.
Play 4: Fourth and 10 on team K's 45 yardline. K1 punts the ball beyond the neutral zone. R1 muffs the ball back behind the neutral zone, where K1 recovers and (a) falls on the ball at team K's 40 yardline, or (b) advances. Ruling 4: Since R1 touched the kick beyond the neutral zone, it will be first down for team K in (a). In (b), because K1 recovered the ball behind the line, the ball remains live. K1's advance is legal.
This column originally appeared in Youth Football 2006-07, published by Referee magazine, the National Association of Sports Officials and USA Football.
