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NCAA spokesperson denies rumors, says no changes coming after North Texas punt return
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An NCAA spokesperson says that a rumor regarding a potential rules change coming in wake of North Texas’ unique punt return against Arkansas on Saturday is false, according to a report.
Tuesday, Kyle Bonagura of ESPN reported that an NCAA spokesman said that there are no rules changes being considered right now. On Monday, Tommy Craft of Hit That Line, an ESPN affiliate in Arkansas, reported that a rules change was being discussed.
“I’ll debunk that rumor, there is no rules change being considered,” the spokesman said, according to Bonagura.
NCAA spokesman on the report of a possible rule change related to the North Texas punt return: "I’ll debunk the rumor … There is no rules change being considered."
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) September 18, 2018
The play in question was North Texas’ punt return in which the return man stopped after catching the football, faking a fair catch. After pausing for a few seconds, he bolted toward the end zone and wound up scoring.
On social media, there were some concerns about player safety.
It doesn’t sound like the NCAA is to worried about the play, or closing up any loopholes, at this time.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB