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REPLY: For the interior lineman who is in the process of placing his hand on the ground, I agree with mbcrowder...by itself, it's illegal motion. But I also agree with ABO that the entire situation might also be an illegal shift. The reason that the lineman's movement (by itself) can't be an illegal shift is very simple--he hasn't completed the movement. A (Federation) shift occurs when an offensive player moves from one set position to another set position. The fact that he wasn't set again means it's not a shift.
ABO's point recognizes the fact that this lineman isn't operating in a vacuum. It could very well be that the rest of the linemen had completed their 'shifts' to a three point stance less than the required second prior to our guy beginning his movement. Note that an illegal shift is a 'team' foul in that one person is never alone responsible. While that statement is always true for NCAA because of their definition of a shift, it is almost always true in Federation also.
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Bob M.
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