College football will return today at West Virginia and when it does kickoff there will be some new rules to adjust to.
West Virginia players will have a new option when it comes to uniform numbers in 2020 as they are now permitted to wear the number 0. The player currently set to sport that is wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who changed to 0 over the summer.
Limits will be in place however, to limit duplicate numbers to only two and those players can not be on the field at the same time or it will result in a penalty.
Last season West Virginia had multiple examples of players with the same uniform number such as quarterback Austin Kendall and defensive end Taijh Alston sharing 12 and wide receiver Sam James and defensive end Jeffery Pooler sharing 13, wide receiver Ali Jennings and safety Noah Guzman sharing 19 and running back Alec Sinkfield and cornerback Tae Mayo doing the same with the number 20.
Both Kerry Martin and George Campbell also sported No. 15 and played on the same special teams unit although Campbell sported another number when playing on those teams.
There are multiple examples of the same number currently shared by two different players on the 2020 roster, and one in the number 30 had three with kicker Evan Staley, safety Jordan Dempsey and spear Naim Muhammad before Dempsey changed to 40.
Another rule that relates to West Virginia is now officials will have jurisdiction of the field 90-minutes prior to kickoff instead of 60-minutes which could limit some of the instances like what happened in the pre-game with two teams jawing like against Oklahoma and Texas Tech in Morgantown in recent years.
Now, regarding targeting any player flagged for it will now be allowed to stay on the sidelines with their teammates after previously forcing those players to leave the field which slowed the game down. All other aspects of the rule including confirming all aspects of targeting will remain the same.
West Virginia dealt with several instances of the targeting rule in 2019, both upheld and overturned, including senior Josh Norwood who had to leave the field on multiple occasions.
When it comes to replays themselves, efforts will be made to shorten that process. The new guideline would limit instant replay reviews to two minutes, although those that appear at the end of games or are complicated will not be subjected to that rule. However, those instances will need to be completed as efficiently as possible in order to continue to speed the game along.
A new clock rule also will be in place which if a play results in the end of the first half or game but replay confirms that time should be left on the clock, there must be at least three seconds remaining or the half or game will be declared over. If there is three seconds, the clock will start on the referee’s signal.
There also will be more changes in response to COVID-19. In football, team areas will be expanded to the 15-yard lines. Under the current rule, the team area was between the 25-yard lines.
Also, the coin toss participants will be limited to two officials and one captain from each team. The current rule allowed up to four game captains and additional people such as media members or ceremonial captains to be in proximity of the coin toss.
Another change allows for student-athletes in all sports to wear patches on their uniforms for commemorative and memorial purposes, as well as to support social justice issues. The patch on the front, which most sports already allowed, as authorized by the school or conference, may be a commemorative/memorial patch (names, mascots, nicknames, logos and marks) intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes.
The patch must not exceed 2¼ square inches and must be placed on the front or sleeve of the uniform. While not all team members are required to wear the patch, they must be identical for those who choose to wear them.
The second location is on the back of the uniform where the player name is traditionally located and, as authorized by the school or conference, will allow names/words intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes. The names or words may vary by team member.
A new year brings forth new rules and that will be no different in Morgantown.
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