DPI Philosophy

[Jim D]

Originally Posted by OverAndBack

Had a play recently that's been bugging me.

A10 runs a square-out and has his back to the goal line as the quarterback throws him the ball. B9 hits A10 from the back (right side of the back), coming through him and then making a near-interception on the ball. Pass incomplete.

DPI?

One of the things our association gave us on certain philosophies is that there has to be an "obvious intent to impede" for it to be DPI and that contact isn't necessarily DPI.

Our white hat said the umpire got it right, I'm just curious as to what your philosophy is (I know you didn't see the play, I tried to describe it as best I could).

Two things here - I think your association is making up it's own rules. The "obvious intent to impede" is not really supported by the NFHS rules. I personally would go with the NF and not the association in deciding. Second, the umpire called this? That's very unusual for a U to call PI. After watching the blocking, watching for ineligibles down field and then turning to help on a trap, a U normally doesn't have the time to see the whole interaction between the receiver and defender. I think there is too big of a risk for the U seeing just the end of the play to call PI.