The current hot topic in the world of sports is the recent rule changes that were passed in the National Football League earlier this week at the NFL owner’s meetings. It came out earlier this week that the NFL is making two major rule changes starting in 2024: the league is banning the “hip-drop” tackle where a player uses his weight to bring the ball carrier down to the ground by his waste; the NFL is also overhauling the kickoff format, adopting an XFL variation that will completely change the look of things going forward.
Kickers will continue to kick from the 35-yard line, but the other 10 players must line up at the opponent’s 40-yard line. At least nine members of the return team will line up in the “setup zone” between their own 30- and 35-yard lines, and up to two returners will line up in the “landing zone” between the goal line and 20-yard line.
Here’s a diagram to help you visualize the NFL’s new kickoff play:
The new era of kickoffs pic.twitter.com/oweXlx4Jj1
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 26, 2024
While this is obviously an NFL topic, it isn’t hard to see a future where these changes trickle down to the college level as well. Earlier this week, I talked on the Sco-ing Long Podcast to my co-host Jonathan Stewart, an Oregon legend and former Pro Bowl running back with the Carolina Panthers, to get his take on the changes.
“First of all, I understand. But, what are we doing here? Are we becoming the XFL?” Stewart said. “I understand it from the standpoint that there was this dead product on the field in kickoff returns. Everyone was kicking it out of the endzone. The problem with that is that it’s now going to be harder on the kick-off unit to stop the kick-off return. It should be hard to get first downs. It should be hard to get yards. It should be hard to score points. Now you’re taking the element of defense out of the game.”
Ultimately, we are likely to see an uptick in production from an offensive perspective, not only due to the kickoff rules leading to better field position, but because of the banning of the hip-drop tackle that led to injuries over the years.
The NFL banned “hip-drop” tackles this week with hopes of improving player safety.
That may be a step too far, says @Jonathanstewart1
“It’s part of the game.” pic.twitter.com/8dvQAKRO0K
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) March 27, 2024
Personally, I don’t know that this is a bad thing, because kick-offs did become irrelevant over the years. It was a touchback every time, which led to viewers tuning out after a touchdown and going to get refreshments or use the restroom. I don’t know that I’m completely against this. It’s going to take a little bit to get used to the look of it and to see where these guys are lining up now, but the end product may see a marked improvement.
If we do see that improvement at the NFL level, how long until we see the changes at the college level?
“If this sticks around for 2-3 years in the NFL, I can definitely see it transferring,” Stewart said.
For those who aren’t excited by the potential change, I don’t think you have anything to worry about for the next couple of years. At this point, it feels like the world of college football has enough going on, from name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal, and conference realignment, to an ever-expanding College Football Playoff. The bandwidth simply may not exist currently to put these new rules into place in due time.
A few years down the road, though? Things may look different.
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