Kentucky officials only
 

Had a question posed to me on another board BY A KENTUCKY COACH regarding linemen BBW from a shotgun formation. How do you guys handle this situation? Legal? Illegal?

I don't need to know what other states do.

I don't need to know what the case book says.

I just need to know what the interpretation is in KENTUCKY.

Thanks!:)

Interesting question for the coach to pose to a "BKTBALLREF" from Eastover, NC. And I didn't want to tell you about SC anyway. :p

I moderate several discussion forums, all across the country.

Are the rules different in KENTUCKY? The fact of the matter is, even if the shotgun snap is moving at 20 mph (slower than I think it actually is BTW) it takes 0.3069 sec for the ball to leave the zone. That is faster than generally accepted human reaction time (0.400 sec) to light much less sound. The ball is out of the zone in all cases and places. It should not be accepted in KENTUCKY or anywhere else using NFHS rules.

The NFHS rule book and case book disagree with you. Every clinic I've attended has also backed up this interpretation. If the block in shotgun formation is immediate, it is legal. If it is delayed at all, it is illegal.

If a state choses to have a tighter interpretation, that is up to them.

If you chose to have a tighter interpretation, I suggest you let the first one go and talk to the teams letting them know your interpretation and then flag it after that.

I think the figure you're looking for is 0.04 seconds. An awful lot can happen in four tenths!

The Human Benchmark site, that uses a test requiring you to click your mouse when the red box turns green, has established an average reaction time of .215 seconds. I would submit the ability of a linemen to react to the start of a snap might be somewhat slower due to simple body mechanics of getting the entire mass moving over twitching one finger.
But what Kentucky does, who the heck knows?

as long as low block is immediate it is ok in ky

I'll back up my fellow Hoosier official. The standing interperation is that as long as the block in question is not delayed, the ball is considered to be in the zone.