Pre-Snap Communication w/ Players

[jTheUmp]

Our crew mentions this to the head coach during pregame: If the wing's arm is raised, that means he thinks the player closest to him is off the line. If the wing's arm is at his side, that means the player is on the line.

We also never respond to a player who says "am I good?" because we, as officials, don't know where he's supposed to line up.
However, if the player asks "am I on?" or "am I off?", we can (and will) respond appropriately.

If the player doesn't ask, we won't say anything.

[BuckeyeRef]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

We also never respond to a player who says "am I good?" because we, as officials, don't know where he's supposed to line up.
However, if the player asks "am I on?" or "am I off?", we can (and will) respond appropriately.

If the player doesn't ask, we won't say anything.

In a varsity game, I usually try to tell the wideouts during the first series that my foot is the line of scrimmage if they want to be on. If a player asks for help I simply tell him he's on or off, I never tell someone to move.

If a player doesn't ask for help, my foot is still there to show the line of scrimmage but he hears nothing from me. Same goes for a DB who moves up to the line of scrimmage right in front of me. If he checks with me to make sure he is not offside I tell him. If he doesn't check with me then I flag him if he is in the neutral zone.

[Mike L]

I guess I've never understood the rationale behind the whole tapping the leg thing like we're protecting some great secret or testing him or something. I'd rather make it easier for him to understand and avoid more stupid formation fouls.
I just simply tell the player who asks 1) you're on the line or 2) you're back. On those rare occassions he'll get a "you're over the line". With any of them it's up to him to figure out what to do at that point.
If it's B lining up in the zone, if there's time he'll get a "back up defense". If A comes up quick and snaps or he doesn't hear me, too bad for B.