Out of Bounds or Legal Play?

[blandis]

Play: 1st and Goal from the B8. A's forward pass goes to the back of the end zone. Before the pass was thrown receiver A88 accidentally stepped over the end line out of bounds. He then stops there. The pass is headed to him when he jumps in the air and bats while in flight with his jump originating from out of bounds it to receiver A87 who catches it in the end zone for an apparent TD. A88 never came back in bounds during the play.
 
   What do you rule? PLEASE CITE RULES & CASE BOOK SOURCES. It may be a bit water bucket but after seeing a similar play this weekend in college it is a possibility.


(I have a TD on the play. It is not illegal participation since A88 never came back into play. It's not incomplete because A88 was not touching anything out of bounds when he batted the ball. It's not illegal batting because A88 is still an eligible receiver and he can bat a forward pass in any direction).

[Atlanta Blue]

Haven't we been down this road before?

[LarryW60]

Many times.  So we're now going to get back into the debate over what "in-bounds" vs. "out-of-bounds" means and when the player changes from being one to the other.  Then the discusssion will switch over to how there's a definition for "out-of-bounds, but no definition for "in-bounds" so anything that's not "out-of-bounds" must be "in-bounds".  Then the result will be that someone says just by jumping into the air, someone can go from "out-of-bounds" to "in-bounds" even though they are still physically outside the boundaries of the playing field.  And that same someone will use a "ruling" in Reddings to justify their position.

Did I cover all the points? 

[A10LJ]

ok the play is, federation rules.   last play of the game, A is down by 2 points.  A throws a backward pass, LJ signals incomplete, no whistles, B stops and doesnt do anything as they think the pass is incomplete.   A picks the ball up and runs for a touchdown.    What is the ruling?

[LarryW60]

ok the play is, federation rules.   last play of the game, A is down by 2 points.  A throws a backward pass, LJ signals incomplete, no whistles, B stops and doesnt do anything as they think the pass is incomplete.   A picks the ball up and runs for a touchdown.    What is the ruling?

Wrong thread BigEast.

[HLinNC]

Oh no- please in the name of all that is holy, lock this thread.