I know a linemen must turn his back or be five yards deep to receive handoff, but can a tight end receive a forward handoff one yard deep without first turning his back...my gut says he is fine, but wanted to check with ya'll....

I guess I should really look this up before I respond, but my gut feeling is if a player is on the LOS at the snap even though he is an eligable reciever he would still have to recieve the ball five yards behind the LOS on a hand off, but could recieve a shuffle pass at the line. So the tight end would have to recieve the ball back five yrds on a hand to hand.

No, the TE is not a lineman, if he's on the end of the line. Therefore, he doesn't need to meet the requirements placed on a lineman. Whether he's receiving a handoff or a pass, he's legal if he's an eligible receiver.

The forward handing restriction only applies to Interior Linemen.

You can hand the ball forward (when behind the NZ) to any back or to a team member who was on the end of the line as long as he was not the snapper or the player next to the snapper.
Yes, the snapper could be the player on the end of the line as could a player one over from the snapper. Highly unusual formations, but it could be used by a coach. It does not matter what number the player is.

couple of formation examples:
E1 T1 G1 C G2 T2 E2
In this formation, only the E1 and E2 could receive a forward handoff anywhere behind the line.

E2 E1 T1 G1 C G2 T2
In this formation, only E2 and T2 could receive a handoff anywhere behind the line.

E1 T2 T1 G1 G2 C E2
In this one, only E1 could receive the handoff anywhere behind the line. E2 is next to the snapper and I think he would have to comply with the lineman restriction if he were to receive a forward handoff.

Good point by Tom. If the TE was lkined up nect to the snapper, restrictions would exist.

5 yard rule applies to motion.
 

If the end goes in motion prior to the snap he must retreat at least 5 yards behind his line or stop and establish himself as a back for at least one second prior to the snap.

### just for the record Jim, where did you get this "be five yards back" statement for linemen to receive a handoff from? I think you are confusing a totally different rule with the forward handoff rule.

The five yard rule behind the NZ is for a player who started in motion from the line of scrimmage or from no-mans land and he did not stop to become a back first.

hey guys thanks for the responses,

i will tell you where i got the five yard info, from over the years just assuming a linemen could recieve a handoff as long as he is five yards deep when doing so, is this bad info, sounds like it.

for example if i ran statue of libert to a guard and handed off 8 yards deep he would not need to turn his back...is this wrong?

Rules gurus, restrictions are only for handing the ball forward, right? Any play can hand the ball backwards or receive a backward handoff at any time, right?

I'm no guru but yes, you are correct.

Words of wisdom for all you gurus...
 

A wise man once said:

"If you see a sacred cow, milk it for all its worth!"

bumping up this old thread.

Fed Rules: Is this still true in 2017? A tight end could receive a handoff behind the line of scrimmage. No motion on this play.

Nothing has changed. The rule is the same as long as I can remember.

Peace