Legal?

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by With_Two_Flakes

The more I watch it, the more it looks like he puts a hand on a teammates shoulder and also steps onto the snappers back (there is a little stutter step as he goes over the snapper).

So if this was an NCAA Rules game.
It looks like he puts his hand on a teammates shoulder to get a little extra leverage? Can't do that: 9-3-5-b-2
It looks like possibly one of his feet is on the snapper's back as he jumps over?
9-1-2-q says "no player may step, jump or stand on an opponent. No defensive player.........may land on any player(s)."
9-1-2-r says " a defensive player may not initiate contact with the snapper until one second..." A foot on his back sounds like contact to me.


If this is a NFHS game.
9-4-3-e "No player shall position himself on the shoulders or body of a teammate or opponent to gain an advantage."
Exclusively NCAA Rules here in Europe so I only get to work Fed Rules on occasional trips to the USA. Could / should 9-4-3-e be interpreted to cover what the kid does on this film?

It should not. The rules on pyramiding and related height-gaining forms of contact have been worked over in the past few decades by the 3 major USAn codes (probably the Canadian ones too) in full cognizance of each other's efforts, and the differences in wording can be presumed to be deliberate. "Position himself" means exactly that, and does not refer to leveraging oneself upward momentarily during play.

Robert