Looking to get a handle on the epidemic of “fake” injuries in college football, the sport’s coaches have reportedly introduced a radical idea they hope will put a stop to the practice.
According to a report Wednesday by The Athletic, a group of coaches at last month’s American Football Coaches Association convention proposed that any player who leaves a game due to injury must sit out the remainder of that possession. In the past, such players only had to leave the field for one play.
As no-huddle and high-tempo offenses have become more prevalent in college football, defenses have begun to combat them with players apparently “feigning” injuries — usually at the direction of coaches — to stop the clock without having to use a timeout (or if that team had no remaining timeouts). It’s become a common sight to see a defensive player drop to the ground in agony following a given play and be helped off the field by medical personnel, only to return without appearing any worse for the wear a short time later.
“There’s a push by the stakeholders in the game saying, on feigning injuries, something must be done,” national coordinator of officials Steve Shaw told The Athletic. “We can’t kick the can down the road once again.”
Ole Miss has been viewed as the biggest culprit in the SEC of late, though nearly every major program has been guilty at one time or another. Witness former Auburn defensive lineman Big Kat Bryant taking a dive during this 2019 game vs. LSU, or Alabama’s King Mack running to the sideline and then back onto the field before being “stricken” in last year’s game vs. Tennessee.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey issued a memo to league members in November outlining potential punishments for faking injuries, which could include fines and suspensions for coaches. However, the AFCA proposal would impose a real-time penalty, rather than a retroactive punishment.
The AFCA discussion was not an official submission for a rule change, though Shaw told The Athletic that the NCAA Football Rules Committee will discuss it at its next meeting. If the rules committee comes up with a formal proposal, it would be forwarded to the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for approval or rejection.
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