Onside Kick without a tee????

[BG5]

Gents,

Just when you think you have seen it all something crazy happens.  I was watching a JV game last night and a team did an onside kick.  They took the ball......set it on the 39 yard line and kicked the ball right off the ground.  It actually worked pretty well but there was nobody holding the ball and there was not a tee.  Is this legal?  I looked it up in the rules and saw nothing about a tee being required.  Am I missing something?

[HLinNC]

If they actually kicked it from the 39 then it was not legal, see 6-1-2.

There is no requirement to use a tee.

[Ralph Damren]

You didn't  miss a thing, BG5, no tee is required. Like HLinNC stated , the ball must be kicked on K's free-kick line. The reason for this is that K can't enter the 10 yd. neutral zone UNTIL the ball is kicked. Consider a kicker moving the ball back 10 yds from his neutral zone and kicking a 'grounder'. Some of his swifter teammates might be able to reach 10 yds downfield before the grounder arrived. This is also the reason ,if K desides to punt after a saftey,, he must do so within 1 yd. from entering the NZ.

[ElvisLives]

You didn't  miss a thing, BG5, no tee is required. Like HLinNC stated , the ball must be kicked on K's free-kick line. The reason for this is that K can't enter the 10 yd. neutral zone UNTIL the ball is kicked. Consider a kicker moving the ball back 10 yds from his neutral zone and kicking a 'grounder'. Some of his swifter teammates might be able to reach 10 yds downfield before the grounder arrived. This is also the reason ,if K desides to punt after a saftey,, he must do so within 1 yd. from entering the NZ.

Ralph, if they bring a tee onto the field, do they have to use it (in some way related to supporting the ball for the kick)?

[Ralph Damren]

Ralph, if they bring a tee onto the field, do they have to use it (in some way related to supporting the ball for the kick)?

I would say YES! Based on a trick play once proposed to me:

COACH : On a kickoff,K1, the suspected kicker will tee the ball up so that it will fall off the tee....
              (1) HE will then pick the ball up, flip it to K2, asking" "Will you hold it for me  ?".
              (2) K1 will stroll dack as if to prepare to kick, teammate seem relaxed.
              (3) K2 casually approaches tee and quickly drop kicks.
              (4) K players were NOT relaxed and pounce on the kick.


DON'T CONFUSE THIS WITH A FAKE FG/PAT, WHERE PLAY WOULD BE LEGAL WITH KICKER'S TEE IN PLAY.

          APPLY CASE 9.9.1 ON KICKOFF PLAY

[ElvisLives]

I would say YES! Based on a trick play once proposed to me:

COACH : On a kickoff,K1, the suspected kicker will tee the ball up so that it will fall off the tee....
              (1) HE will then pick the ball up, flip it to K2, asking" "Will you hold it for me  ?".
              (2) K1 will stroll dack as if to prepare to kick, teammate seem relaxed.
              (3) K2 casually approaches tee and quickly drop kicks.
              (4) K players were NOT relaxed and pounce on the kick.


DON'T CONFUSE THIS WITH A FAKE FG/PAT, WHERE PLAY WOULD BE LEGAL WITH KICKER'S TEE IN PLAY.

          APPLY CASE 9.9.1 ON KICKOFF PLAY

Thanks. See the NCAA forum for a similar discussion.