Player going OB

[sloth]

Originally Posted by GoodScout

Let's assume that it's a defender that goes OOB on his own volition chasing the fumble, and then steps back inbounds and recovers it. My take would be that the ball would be dead as soon as he touched it, you'd have illegal participation, and you'd have fun explaining to the defensive coach that since neither team gained possession before the ball became dead, it goes back to the offense -- with the IP penalty tacked on.

I agree on the illegal participation..however, why kill the play? Unless he is still OOB when he recovers (or touches) the ball; I'd drop the flag and let the play finish.