Onside kick and 10 yds...........

[devilsadvocate]

When the kicking team attempts an onside kick the ball must travel 10 yds before they can touch it.

Is the receiving team held to the same restrictions, or can they recover the ball any distance (land on the ball after it has gone 7 yds, for example)? And go ahead and cite the rule number.

[mikesears]

Originally posted by devilsadvocate
When the kicking team attempts an onside kick the ball must travel 10 yds before they can touch it.

Is the receiving team held to the same restrictions, or can they recover the ball any distance (land on the ball after it has gone 7 yds, for example)? And go ahead and cite the rule number.

To answer your question, yes, R can land on the ball on a free kick even if the ball only travels 7 yards.

To be more specific, R can touch the ball regardless of what distance the ball travels. The only restriction they have is that they cannot cross their restraining line before the ball is kicked. However, if R does touch it before going 10 yards, K is no longer prevented from touching and/or recovering the ball.

There is no rule that R cannot touch the ball before going 10 yards so it is legal.

The only rule is for K and it states (summarized) that the ball must travel 10 yards and touch the ground (any order) or R must touch the ball. If K does touch it before going 10 yards and the ball is grounded and no R player has touched the ball, K has first touched the ball and R can elect to take the ball at the spot where K touched it (under most circumastances).