Punt Receiving

[Tom Cook]

It seems to me that the college and pro games do a better job of protecting the punt receiver than the high school game. NCAA and NFL (I think) have the "Halo" around the punt receiver whereas Fed rules allow contact immediately after touching the ball, if in the Back judge's opinion the receiver had a chance to catch the ball. Does anyone else think that the Halo should be used in HS?

[Zeke5]

The NFL does not have the halo. (I don't think the XFL
had a fair catch rule)

I would prefer a game without the halo. I've seen plenty
of returners in the NCAA get thier clock cleaned legally
with the halo. I think it also takes too much pressure off
of the returner when they signal a fair catch. And from
an officiating standpoint, I think it complicates the
kicking play more than it has to.

[Rick KY]

I am not in favor of the halo. If you think about comparing the punt receiver to a pass receiver, the pass receiver is more often in a risky body position than the punt returner. Pass receiver many times must leave his feet, reach for the ball, twist and turn in unnatural positions to make the catch. The punt returner is usually on his feet with hands/arms in front of his body to make the catch. A quick or hard hit is more likely to injure the pass catcher I believe. Since the halo is primarily for safety, I see no more reason for it than if we created a halo around pass receivers.