Hi, Did you discuss this play yesterday?
(spoiler alert: Missouri ST vs Arkansas St game)
https://youtu.be/0q8Xa_7qUdI
Watch for A#34
A34 gets blocked out of bounds, and we know the S saw that, since his hat is off when the ball is being recovered after the muff. However, A34 must return to the field immediately, to be legal. He clearly does NOT return immediately, but then he does return, which is a foul for an illegal return. However, the S is very busy observing the action related to the ball, so I can understand why he may not recognize that A34 returned illegally. Maybe the H could have seen that, but he is probably checking action on the field in front of the area where the ball lands.
The illegal return would have a 5-yard penalty at the previous spot with the down repeated. Obviously, that would have made some amount of difference in the game. Maybe Team B muffs the kick when the down is repeated. Maybe not. We’ll never know.
I’m not a replay expert, so I don’t know if they could have got involved, or not.
The foul is only for returning to the field. Although, A34 does nothing significant when he returns to the field (doesn’t touch the ball, doesn’t obstruct an opponent), any such action he does after returning to the field is not a foul - only the fact that he returned to the field. Any REAL impact on the game? No. But, then, most illegal formations, etc., have no real impact on the game. They are still fouls.
Probably should have been called.
