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Football Officiating => NCAA Discussion => Topic started by: ElvisLives on November 27, 2023, 10:46:36 AM
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For those that may have missed it, Shaw reviewed an attempted "hideout" play run by Southern Mississippi a few weeks ago, and very clearly ruled it to be illegal. In the play in question, SM ran a running play to the opponent's side of the field. At the snap for that down, a back was in motion heading toward the SM sideline. Shortly after the snap, the motion back just went into an easy jog, continuing to move toward his sideline, and slightly back toward his goal line. Meanwhile, the ball carrier is running ahead at the opposite hash marks. All defensive players are focused on that action, and are no longer paying any attention to the motion back. When the ball becomes dead, the motion back is right at the top of the numbers on his side of the field. He keeps moving easily toward his sideline, facing and looking into his bench area, and stopping short of the sideline. Still in the field of play, he stands about 1 yard from the sideline, and he is now some 12 yards behind the succeeding spot, continuing to face toward the bench, adjacent to players and coaches in the team area. The rest of the SM players then take positions for the succeeding down, and no defensive players are covering the player "hiding out" near his own sideline. At the snap, the "hideout" player speeds downfield and catches a pass uncontested for a gain of almost 20 yards. (Had the QB thrown a better pass to lead the receiver better, the receiver could easily have scored. But, a defender recognized the receiver running down the sideline and was able to get to him and shove him out of bounds.)
Shaw acknowledges that the coaches are attempting to use a technicality in the rules to claim that this is legal, because 1) the receiver was within the 9-yard marks after the previous down, and 2) they did not actually make a substitution. But Shaw cites 9-2-2-b as the rule that governs tactics associated with the substitution process in declaring this action to be illegal. It is a UNS on the team (no specific player or coach), with a 15-yard penalty at the previous spot and repeat the down. The Side Judge recognized this as being illegal, and dropped his foul marker, and the penalty was enforced. End of that story.
Please note that this is not at all new. I recall John Adams and Rogers Redding, both, addressing this issue in years past. It seems that every so often, some new group of coaches, unaware of this rule and its interpretation, resurrect the "hideout" play and try to steal a win by using this illegal tactic.
Thankfully, Shaw clearly rules this to be illegal, even though it does not involve an actual substitution. He goes on to say that they will add an AR to the rules for 2024 to fully cover this situation, so it will finally be specifically covered in writing.
What Shaw does not talk about in this video is that Ole Miss used this same exact tactic in a game, and it was NOT called, and they did, in fact, score a touchdown with it, and, ultimately, won the game with a score differential of less than a touchdown. Ouch. Thankfully for him, Shaw had the SM game to use, so he didn't have to directly embarrass his home conference staff. Thankfully for us, though, we will finally get the ammunition we need to put a permanent end to the attempted use of the "hideout" play. Coaches will still ask how they can legally run a 'hideout' play. We can truthfully answer, "You can't." End of this whole story.
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I had a very similar play this season.
QB had been going to the sideline all game to get the play (no signals), and at the end of a run, he comes over (I was working their sideline). I perked up when I heard the coach tell him 'stop right there' and he paused at the numbers, then walked to the sideline to get the play. He gets the play, runs back to the huddle like a sub, and as he is running in, a wideout runs out of the huddle, and then stops at the sideline. I was trying to determine what was illegal about what they did when the ball was snapped. He never left the field of play, and was legally in between the numbers as required. I am lucky that my R caught it. He picked up on it because they only had 10 in the huddle, and recognized that they didn't actually substitute.
We had a conversation after that, where he reminded me that regardless of the technicalities of what they did/didn't do, you cannot use the substitution process to attempt to deceive, no subbing actually required for it to be a foul, and I won't forget next time.
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Rogers even had one years ago on the national training tape where the FG team ran out from a time out and one guy stopped inside the numbers and he still wanted it called. I don't think there's a way you can legally run it.
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For the Texas guys, TASO also released a video last week regarding this. Be sure to check it out.