Man in Motion on the Line

[Ed Hickland]

The youth leagues and junior high schools often run plays that take a player initially positioned on the line and have him go in motion a) the player is split and his motion is toward the snapper, or b) the player's motion is slightly behind the LOS of scrimmage.

My contention is the player in either case is illegally in motion. But I find myself a minority of one for penalizing this motion.

The rules plainly states in order to go in motion from a position on the line the player must be 5 yards behind the line.

Does the offense gain any advantage when this illegal motion is used?