Illegal touching

[Rich]

Talking more football.

Last Friday night, I had a play I'm sure we handled well, but I'm open to improvements.

QB drops back from the shotgun and is pressured. He's forced in my direction, so I'm (WH) scrambling to get deeper and wider, out of his way.

He just gets rid of the pass (he's hit just as he throws) and is tackled at my feet. The pass was not deflected, but floated up towards the LOS.

Interior lineman #57 was near the ball and reached for it (before realizing he shouldn't), but I was unsure whether he muffed the pass or not. I signaled the pass incomplete and noted where #57 touched the ball. I went up and talked to the umpire and asked him what he saw -- he said #57 touched the ball, but he was unsure if the pass was tipped. I told him that it wasn't. The L was nearby, so we asked him if there was an eligible receiver in the area of the pass and there was one close enough. I threw a flag at the spot of the touching and enforced the illegal touching penalty.

The only comment from the offense's coach was that he was impressed at how we came together to "get it right."

Any suggestions on how to handle this better? Would you throw a flag immediately and then pick it up if it wasn't a foul? The only reason I wonder this is because it looks like I made up a spot of the foul since the flag came in so late.