Defense holding/
 

I am a coach in Illinois for youth football. We use IHSA rules. My question is.... You have one receiver.... after said receiver is down field (15 yards) he is tackled from behind.

The pass is not yet in the air, so it can not be pass interferance... what should the call be or is there even a call to be made?

Can somebody help with this answer?

Canadian Ruling
 

CANADIAN RULING:

I would flag as holding. However, another proper call is Illegal Contact on an Eligible Receiver. In Canada, the penalties for Holding and Illegal Contact are the same, so it doesn't matter what you call. However, I believe that Holding better describes the act that caused the foul. Illegal Contact often describes bumping a receiver off of his chosen path.

NFHS: This is holding by the defense. 10 yard penalty if accepted; if the pass ends up being thrown, it would be enforced from the previous spot, otherwise from the end of the run. 9-2-3c

You could conceivably call it illegal contact with a receiver under 9-2-3d, but the penalty is the same, the foul in this case (being tackled) is really holding, and it's harder to explain to coaches. ;)

thanks
 

Thanks Guys!!!! That puts me at ease..... it became a heated discussion and I just wanted to make sure that my point of view on the rules were correct.