OHIO — Changes are coming to high school football rules in Ohio after the National Federation of State High School Associations announced the changes to the NFHS Football Rules Book.

The seven rule changes were made by the NFHS Football Rules Committee at its meeting in Indianapolis on Jan. 8-10. All changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors for the 2023 high school football season.

Ohio High School Athletic Association Director of Media Relations Tim Stried confirmed as members of the national organization, the OHSAA will adopt the changes made by the NFHS.

Among the changes was the decision to eliminate the excessive penalty enforcements for offensive fouls that occur behind the line of scrimmage in high school football.

Under the new rule language, enforcement of an offensive foul that occurs behind the line of scrimmage will be enforced from the previous spot and not the spot in which the penalty occurred.

Existing penalties for illegal kicking, batting and participation fouls, and also provisions for offensive fouls occurring in the end zone that may cause a safety, remain in effect.

In a news release, the NFHS announced the move aims to “achieve one of the committee’s fundamental tasks of maintaining a balance between offense and defense.”

Under the new rule language, a team on offense at its own 40-yard line that is called for holding 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage at its own 30-yard line, would face first and 20 from its 30-yard line instead of first and 30 from its own 20-yard line, a task the NFHS called “almost insurmountable.”

“This is an excellent rule change that the majority of game officials and coaches requested and that our NFHS Football Rules Committee members approved unanimously,” said Richard McWhirter, chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). “I believe this change will make the rule clearer for coaches and easier for game officials to administer.”

Another rule change that fell under the committee’s goal of “risk mitigation” was additional criteria to identify a player defined as defenseless.

The additional classification says another example of a defenseless player includes a receiver, as previously defined in the rule, including the person intercepting the pass, who is forcefully contacted by an opponent that is not “incidental contact as a result of making a play on the ball, initiated with open hands or an attempt to tackle by wrapping arm(s) around the receiver.”

Other rule changes included:

• A clarification to the intentional grounding rule change implemented last year.
• A revision that clarifies when a player is in bounds after being out of bounds, which does not change any rules related to “illegal participation or the provisions regarding eligibility to catch a pass.”
• A change regarding player equipment, specifically player towels, which now may contain one manufacturer’s logo and/or one school logo, and must be a solid color, but now do not have to be the same color for each player.
• The removal of the word “intentional” regarding forward pass interference
• A change in six-man football that allows the ball to be handed forward on a running play, including to the guards/ends, while prohibiting handing the ball to the snapper, provided both players are behind the neutral zone

“The NFHS Football Rules Committee continually strives to clarify the playing rules for optimal game efficiency,” McWhirter said. “These changes exemplify that goal.”