Forward Progress on Pass Play

[kdf5]

Originally posted by ljudge
It's definitely not a catch until he touches the ground and I think we're all pretty much on board with that. We had an all-NCAA crew work a high school game and the crew was berated by the coach (which I heard got him a suspension) that had to do with the definition of a catch. The A player went in the air, completely possessed the ball, then was hit while still airborne, the ball popped out, then the football subsequently hit the ground. A member of team B picked up the ball (right in front of B's bench) and started to advance what he tought was a fumble. The LJ quickly blew the whistle and ruled incomplete pass. The bench went nuts from what I heard. The play was discussed at our weekly chapter assembly and we were told the crew got the call correct. So, with the case we have before us I'm sticking to the 28 because that's where the catch was completed. If the player had been moving forward I may have ruled differently.

However, here's part of the definition of forward progress:

Art. 2 . . . When an airborne player makes a catch, forward progress is the furthest point of advancement after he possesses the ball if contacted by a defender.

I think this makes a case for spotting the ball at the 30.