Fair Catch & Punt Return

[Ed Hickland]

Originally Posted by l3will

As per rule, I think the signal is valid since the receiver did extend his arm fully and wave that arm laterally at least once.

The real issue though is that the Back Judge missed seeing the signal at all,
and he got no help from the Line Judge either.

I have to beg to differ with you on the signal. As I saw it the receiver's arm started somewhere below his waist and he circled it once. A proper signal is the signal for a touchback (NFHS not NFL). The reason for this is in order not to confuse it with shading the eyes or some other movement of the arm.

Preventative officiating, always demonstrate to a potential receiver how to properly perform a fair catch signal.