Kicking the ball

[Kalle]

What's the NCAA take on what really constitutes a kick?

1/10@A-20. A12 throws a legal forward pass which is low and going to the ground at A-25. B99 reaches out with his leg to stop the ball (think of an attempt at controlling the ball in soccer), and the ball hits the lower leg a) while the leg is in the air b) the foot is down on the ground. The ball bounces up high and B88 catches it at A-23 where he is immediately downed.

[NVFOA_Ump]

That's got to be Illegal Kicking if it is judged to be intentional contact that meets the definition in Rule 2, Section 16 IMO.

RULE 2, SECTION 16. Kicks; Kicking the Ball
Kicking the Ball; Legal and Illegal Kicks
ARTICLE 1. a. Kicking the ball is intentionally striking the ball with the knee, lower leg or foot.
b. A legal kick is a punt, drop kick or place kick made according to the rules by a player of Team A before a change of team possession. Kicking the ball in any other manner is illegal (A.R. 6-1-2-I).
c. Any free kick or scrimmage kick continues to be a kick until it is caught or recovered by a player or becomes dead.
d. When in question, a ball is accidentally touched rather than kicked.

[ElvisLives]

We really don't have any official guidance for this specific action that Kalle describes.  We are getting into some finer elements of language, and word definitions, but what Kalle is describing isn't truly "...intentionally striking..." the ball with the leg/foot.  Striking the ball, by language definition, would be to forcibly contact the ball, and I don't believe that is what Kalle is describing.  Rather, Kalle is describing the simple act of placing the leg/foot in a position to stop or control the ball's progress, with the intent of that player or a teammate then being able to secure the ball, in that immediate vicinity.  IMHO, kicking the ball means to strike (forcibly contact) the ball with the leg/foot with the intent of directing the ball in a direction, and with some distance, to either prevent an opponent from securing the ball, or to allow that player or a teammate to secure the ball, or otherwise gain an advantage.

In the circumstance that Kalle describes, I think we simply use judgment as whether or not the player intended to direct the ball to a location that would give his team an advantage.  If we judge that he was simply trying to stop or control the ball with leg/foot to allow himself or a teammate to recover the ball at that immediate location, I don't think we have a foul.

This is mostly just my opinion, and not at all any sort of official interpretation. But, it is, mostly likely, what I would rule on the field.

Robert

[Kalle]

Rather, Kalle is describing the simple act of placing the leg/foot in a position to stop or control the ball's progress, with the intent of that player or a teammate then being able to secure the ball, in that immediate vicinity.

Yeah, this is what I'm trying to describe. For background, we just had a play situation almost like described (and that was how it was seen by us officials on the field), but in real life (good TV view) it was more of an obvious kick (poor pass towards the ground and kicked high by a LB and intercepted - unfortunately HL wasn't confident enough with his call of illegally kicking the ball to throw the flag, and R and BJ - myself - with not really seeing it properly were more of the opinion of an attempt at controlling the ball).