roughing the kicker

[JugglingReferee]

The Canadian philosophy says that the only way a defender is relieved of his responsibility of avoiding the kicker is if that defender touches the ball after if it kicked. (There is no kick until the ball is kicked.)

R1 could legally contact the kicker. R2 may not. This sounds like contacting the kicker, rather than roughing the kicker, but as always HTBT always helps.

Contacting the kicker: 10y PLS, DR.
Roughging the kicker: 15y PLS, AFD, 1D/10 or 15y PP or 15 PBD.

[whitehat52]

Read the comment in the casebook after 9.4.5. I am not going to retype the whole comment but one sentence in the comment says: "Touching the kicked ball is, in itself, not a license to charge the kicker/holder." If a defensive player is able to avoid contact, then he must avoid the contact or be subject to a running into or roughing call. I am in the camp that this is a penalty. Touching the ball does not give the defense a free shot at the kicker.

[RoyGardner]

Under NCAA rules the only player(s) who get to hit the kicker and/or holder on a play like this are the player(s) who actually block the kick. Even then if the hit is deemed excessive and not part of the actual kick block motion then we can use our judgement and flag anyway.

Under no circumstances can a player who did not actually touch the kick during the kick block then hit/rough the kicker and/or holder. The rule is very clear on this point.