Kicking play

[Stinterp]

4th and 2 from the team K-10 yard line. Punter K12 muffs the snap and kicks the ball directly from the ground 5 yards deep into his own end zone. The ball rolls to the (a) K-5 yard line or (b) K-15 yard line where K-25 recovers the ball. What are options?

[FLAHL]

Accept the penalty for the illegal kick and get 2 points for a safety, or decline the penalty and get the ball at the 5 or 15.

Edit - Sorry, I read this as R recovers.  I shouldn't post before my coffee kicks in. 

[Stinterp]

If declined and K recovers at the 15, is it a first down for K?

[Jim D]

If declined and K recovers at the 15, is it a first down for K?

Remember, the status of the ball is a fumble and not a kick.  No first down unless the line to gain is reached. 

If the ball goes out of bounds, the ball belongs to A - not to B and joint possession goes to A.
(A might loose possession if it were 4th down, but the ball doesn't turn over to B on this play until we see if the line to gain was reached).  It's an important disctinction if the kick goes out of bounds past the line to gain.  R's option would not include taking the results of the play and getting the ball 1st & 10 at the spot where the ball went out.

[Kevin Durst]

Agree if R accepts the penalty for the illegal kick, the spot of which was in the end zone, it is a safety.  2 points for R and K free kicks.

If K recovers the kick on the 5 yard line, R has the option to decline the penalty and take the ball at the 5 yards line, as K failed to make the line to gain on 4th down.

The status of the ball during an illegal kick is the same as before the illegal kick, which was a fumble as the ball was loose due to the muffed snap. If K recovers the kick on the 15 yard line, if R declines the penalty, it will be 1st and 10 for K at the 15, as they made the line to gain on the play. R will obviously accept the penalty for the illegal kick in this situation.