Ncaa Committee Proposes Charged Timeout If Player Goes Down With Apparent Injury After Ball Spotted

The NCAA Football Rules Committee announced Friday it would propose that a team be charged with a timeout if one of its players falls to the ground on the field because of an apparent injury after the ball is spotted for the next play.

Feigning injuries, sometimes at the coach's instruction, has become a tactic defenses use to slow down tempo offenses or as a way for an offense to avoid a delay-of-game penalty or get an extra timeout.

The committee's proposal stops short of one submitted by the American Football Coaches Association that would have required a player who goes down and receives medical attention to sit out the rest of that possession. Currently, the player must go out for one play before re-entering.

Under the committee's proposal, if the injured player's team does not have any timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty would be assessed.

All proposed rule changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss football rules April 16.