COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NFL has implemented a new method for taking kickoffs.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day believes college football will follow suit in the future.
“If the NFL commits to that, you’ll probably see that,” Day said Thursday on his weekly radio show. “…Just because of the overall injuries, that’s why the NFL went to him.”
Troy Vincent — a former Wisconsin cornerback who now serves as the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations — met with Big Ten coaches in California recently, Day said.
Vincent explained how the new match would work, and said the data would be examined at the end of the season to see its impact.
“I haven’t watched it much,” Day said. “I haven’t watched a lot of NFL football. I’ve had my hands full here, but I’ve watched a couple go by. It’s interesting, to say the least, in terms of the schemes and exactly what’s going on.”
The NFL calls its new style the “Dynamic Start.”
The kicking team stands on the opponent’s 40-yard line while the receiving team stands between 30 and 35 yards. Neither party, outside the kick taker and returner, can move until the ball has been served.
If the ball is caught between the 20-yard line and the end zone – known as the “touchdown” – it must be returned.
A kick that goes into the end zone could be returned or dropped for a touchdown, which would put the ball on the receiving team’s 30-yard line.
