The NCAA rules committee is reportedly considering an idea to have injured players sit out a full drive, in an effort to stop the fake injury.
According to Chris Vannini of the The Athletic, this would apply to all players except quarterbacks. This comes on the heels of coaches discussing a similar rule change based on a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger in January.
“There’s a push by the stakeholders in the game saying, on feigning injuries, something must be done,” Steve Shaw, national coordinator of officials and committee rules editor, told The Athletic and Vannini. “We can’t kick the can down the road once again.”
The reason why quarterbacks and potentially “the green dot players” could be exempt from this injury rule, is the drastic effect on the game.
“That’s where another idea comes in: to handle differently the ‘green dot’ player — those with a coach-to-player helmet communication, typically quarterbacks and one defensive player,” Vannini wrote. “Perhaps they would only have to sit out one play if they’re cleared to return.”
That seems to be the logical thought in the minds of people suggesting this rule change.
“The green dot exception provides a relief from that and makes the rule more palatable,” Craig Bohl, the AFCA executive director and former Wyoming head coach, said. “Because the guys abusing this rule and going down are rotational players, not the quarterback.”
At the start of November, the SEC announced it would begin implementing punishments for faking injuries. This was a move that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said he was happy about.
“I’m glad,” Kiffin said. “I know some people say, okay, that sounds weird coming from me. We’re a tempo offense. I’ve been saying this for years, okay, that faking an injury hurts us more than anybody — us and Tennessee — probably more than anybody in America.”
Earlier in the season, broadcaster Sean McDonough pointed out that one of the Ole Miss players went to the ground in an SEC matchup against Kentucky, seemingly faking an injury. However, rules analyst Matt Austin said there was no rule specifically against such a move at the time.
“Happens to us more than anybody. Happened last week. Over and over again,” Kiffin said. “So, it may not surprise you, I was very happy for that. We issued a statement weeks ago about this.”
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