Several weeks ago we discussed the more visible changes in NCAA football rules for 2004. Last Wednesday Bobby Gaston, the supervisor of football officials for the SEC, addressed some of those changes in a presentation at SEC Media Days.

About the change requiring referees, when outfitted with a microphone, to announce the number of a player who commits a foul, Gaston said, &uot;We talked last year about identifying players on fouls, with your (media) help and getting it written, put enough pressure on them (NCAA Football Rules Committee), we now have that in the rulebook. Been a long quest of mine to get that in the book.&uot;

The substitution rules were changed to prohibit a team on offense from rushing to the line of scrimmage and quickly snapping the ball in an effort to catch the defense with perhaps the wrong combination of players on the field. Gaston remarked, &uot;It puts emphasis on us to have our guy (the umpire) step up and react (hold the snap) so the defensive team can make a substitution. We (SEC) used this same system last year.&uot;

Gaston added, &uot;Coach Nick Saban (LSU) is the SEC representative on the NCAA Rules Committee. Nick did a great job for us. He talked about 30 to 40 minutes about sportsmanship. Sportsmanship in college football is deteriorating as we all are aware. Naturally we all (conferences) need to react to this and get on the same page.&uot;

When asked about the rule change eliminating defensive pass interference from being called when a player, from kick formation, throws a long, high pass deeply down field in an effort to draw a pass interference call against a defensive back who naturally thinks the ball has been kicked, Gaston said, &uot;It was giving the offense a tremendous advantage. It doesn’t mean you can’t throw from kick formation, but it better be obviously out in the flat and not trying to hit one of the gunners (wide-outs covering the punt) going down field.&uot;

A lot of questions came up about the Big Ten decision to experiment with instant replay. &uot;They are going to put a tech advisor in a booth upstairs. He’ll have a Tivo. In the course of a game if he sees a play he thinks needs review, he will call the sideline and ask them to stop play. He can go back and review that play. He does not have the ability to talk to the officials or to the TV truck. He and he alone will make the decision as to whether a play or call will be overturned. I think there are obvious misses in college football that can be corrected, but with these limitations I don’t anticipate that some things will be changed.

&uot;Currently our (SEC) coaches have not shown any desire to have instant replay. I think it’s an explosive situation if they reverse something and three or four minutes later they find another view that shows he overturned something that he shouldn’t have.&uot;

Mr. Gaston’s comments were made a few days prior to the SEC football official’s rules clinic, and I know from experience that none of the above is yet cast in stone.

And that’s official

Al Graning is a former SEC official and former Natchez resident. E-mail him at

AlanWard39157@aol.com

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