[Welpe]

I had a situation come up last night during a game (NFHS) while I was working at Linesman. Following a timeout and before the RFP, the offense lines up with a wide receiver right near my sideline, outside the numbers. I know that 7-2-1 specifies that all players involved in the previous play and their substitutes must be inside the numbers after the RFP and before the snap.

My question is, would this apply after a time out? I would think that the rule would apply but I'm not entirely sure. The Redding guide states that the purpose of the rule is to prevent the offense from running "hide out plays". Since the defense picked up on the fact there were receivers near the sideline, I didn't flag it but it has been gnawing on me.