Hurdling

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by phansen

I agree with your point about leading with the shoe and cleat and would guess that is the reason they made hurdling a penalty. I was really hoping for a bigger response to my original question, but I don't think jumping over a player is always considered hurdling. Ed pointed out by the definition it says that the person being hurdled must have a foot or both feet on the ground which, in most cases would make it a tall task for the hurdler.

Last I looked at this, which was a while ago, NCAA completely outlawed hurdling, which was then defined as an attempt to jump over an erect opponent, Fed allowed it if no contact was made, and NFL allowed it against an opponent in the neutral zone. The problem is that if contact is made, it will be the crotch of the hurdler against the head of the hurdled player, and as they come down, that player's neck will experience a lot of dorsiflexion and possibly compression.

Mike Battle of the Jets returning a punt hurdled a Giants player in a move that made his fame in an exhibition game, and his crotch did bowl over the hurdled player by the head. I think that was 1970. The rule against hurdling was considered a dead letter, apparently.

As to the other kind of move mentioned in this thread, I recall one CFL QB going horizontal in the air by taking off at the 5 yard line and karate-kicking high against an opponent on the goal line. No flag.

Robert