[Ed Hickland]

My simple rule for NFHS.

When the foul occurs.

Live ball foul if the offense occurs at the snap.

Dead ball foul if the offense occurs before the snap.

Sounds simple and it really is. If a player commits an act and has no chance to correct it, a dead ball foul occurs. A player in the neutral zone -- cannot just get out of it -- dead ball foul. An interior lineman comes out of three point stance -- cannot undo it -- dead ball foul.

Player goes in motion toward the line of scrimmage -- he can stop and stay set for a second before the snap -- no whistle, if does not correct, would be a live ball foul. An end backs off the line and sets in the backfield leaving six men on the line -- can put a seventh player on the line before the snap -- no whistle as the foul occurs at the snap if the player is not replaced before the snap.

The tricky one is when a back starts a move forward, does the move constitute a false start or was it the beginning of legal motion. If it looks like a false start then dead ball foul, otherwise, it would be legal.