Illegal Touching and OPI

[Bob M.]

REPLY: That's what I was getting at. Ineligible A can block beyond the NZ once A touches the pass. However, he cannot touch the pass. Now let's take it further: He must use a legal blocking technique (defined in NF 2-3-2). So he cannot use his hands to momentarily push or pull an opponent (as allowed by NF 2-3-4) since he cannot legally touch the pass. An eligible A could in this case.

And to get back to one of the questions Mike asked in his original post: “Is it safe to say you can't have both illegal touching and OPI during the same down?” – No, it’s not safe to say that. Consider: an ineligible illegally touches a pass behind the NZ and the ball rebounds beyond the NZ. Then an ineligible muffs the pass beyond the NZ prior to any touching by B. This is a multiple foul: illegal touching and OPI.