Lappano expects UW offense to benefit from new kickoff rule

SEATTLE – Tim Lappano smiled when asked about the rule changes in college football this season.

In particular, he likes what moving the spot of the kickoff back 5 yards can mean when it comes to play calling. As Washington’s offensive coordinator, Lappano said kickoffs from the 30-yard line will lead to less touchbacks and better field position, which in turn will result in a more open playbook.

“It makes it a lot easier,” he said. “There’s nothing worse than starting on your 15- or your 10-yard line. When you’re backed up inside your 10-yard line, that’s brutal. You’ve got to be pretty conservative there. It’s going to make a big difference. It’s going to be different now. There are some guys in this league that can return kicks. You’re going to see some midfield starting positions probably around the 35-, 40-yard line a lot.”

And while offensive-minded coaches like the idea of better field position, some people are concerned with the potential for more injuries on what is already one of the most violent plays in college sports.

“I don’t think there are going to be more violent collisions,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said, “But there will be more returns (and less touchbacks) so there will be more collisions in the course of a game.”

Moving the kickoff wasn’t the only rule change made by the NCAA for the 2007 season. College football will return to the old timing rules after much negative feedback on the new rules put in place last year. Under the 2006 rules, the clock started on the kickoff rather than when it was touched by a receiver, and the clock also started when the ball was spotted after a possession change, rather than on the snap.

Those rules were put in place in an attempt to shorten games, but coaches did not like the number of plays they lost, or the effect the rules had at the end of close games. One way the NCAA hopes to save time this year is to shorten the play clock to 15 seconds when coming out of a TV timeout.