Punt Formation

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by HL Clippenchain

What if it travels just past the LOS but while it's still in the air, it blows back behind the LOS and is recovered by K? R never touches it. Is it K's ball or R's?

In all codes, the fact that the ball was in the air or on the ground beyond the neutral zone is irrelevant if while it was there it didn't touch and wasn't touched by a player of K (before or without being touched by R). In all USAn codes in that case, with K's recovery on K's side of the neutral zone, K's team possession continues, and the series of downs continues; this has been the case since 1930. In Canadian football, the right to the ball depends whether the recovering player was onside or offside, but the series of downs ends if the ball touched the ground on R's side of the LOS.

Robert