We teach that the "U" or anyone else does not signal a score unless he is standing on the goal line and the ball is exposed to him. Typically for the "U" this means that the ball was snapped from the 4,5 or 6 yard line.
There is no hurry in signaling a TD. Years ago I was the "R" in a game where the ball was snapped from the three and the ball carrier slipped momentarily and his knee hit the ground. He popped right up and bulled his way into the endzone. The umpire and the back judge signaled a score while the linejudge marked his progress at the 1 and 1/2 yard line. That is where we ruled the play dead. The score would ahve won the game and the TD signals caused us a lot of conternation. Needless to say the fans and the coaches from team A were not happy. They fumbled and lost the ball on the next play.
This just goes to show, we cause most of our own problems by the use of poor mechanics.
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