| FTBL Illegal participation

[rammajamma]

When did illegal participation become a dead ball foul? When I was watching the AU LSU game, there was a play when LSU had 12 men on the field (AU had the ball) and they blew the whistle and stopped the play and called the penalty. I thought the offense basically got a free play and got to choose whether or not to take the penalty or what ever gain they got. Did this change without me noticing?

 

[imported_RollTideRandy]

Yes. The rules changed a few years ago when they added the illegal substitution penalty. It says basically that the guys you break the huddle with are the guys who have to participate in the next play. Before the illegal substitution penalty, you could run the 12th man off the field and as long as he was on the sideline before the snap, there was no foul. Now, if you break the huddle with 12, you have already committed a penalty before the ball is snapped so it can be a dead-ball foul.