Technically speaking, it was illegal motion if he was not at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage at the snap, since he was not a back when he started his motion. (7-3-7. Foul at the snap. Five yard penalty from previous spot.) It was certainly not a false start. The other receiver was not ineligible.
As bigjohn said, this is a great reason to never tell a player to move. How do you tell a player to move, and then flag him when he does? How do you not flag an obvious foul right in front of the opposing coach?
Best to avoid that dilemma altogether. During youth games, I have no reservations about giving instructions to get the players to line up correctly. By middle school, I don't have to do that. Shouldn't have to during JV, either. Tell them, "You're on," or, "You're off," and if they want to move, they can do so on their own. Then call fouls as appropriate.
Last edited by Bullycon; Tue Sep 15, 2009 at 09:33am.
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