More on the A-11

The A-11 offense discussed earlier as the next generation spread, and rumored to be making its way into college and into high school football in my area ( possible scrimmage team) is best understood by talking about eligibility.

In High school and college, players have to be eligible by number and formation. That is, numbers up to 49 and 80 and up are eligible numbers. 50-79 are not. On any given offensive play there must be at least 7 on the line of scrimmage. And there must be at least 5 ineligible numbers on the field. Anyone wearing an eligible number and not on the line of scrimmage (ie more than 1 yard back from the los) is eligible to go down field and catch a pass. Also the last man on each side of the football on the LOS is eligible if he has a eligible number. There is no declaring yourself eligible, you must be eligible by number and formation. The exception to this rule, is the Free kick rule which allows the offense to put 11 eligible numbers on the field at the same time as long as one of them is more than 7 yards deep in a kick formation.

Two main reasons for the free-kick rule is to get more athletic kids on the field to cover punts, better opportunities to play more kids. The first one obviously more so than the second. Remember in high school and college 5 players on offense have to be wearing ineligible numbers and therefore are not eligible to catch a pass. The free kick rule however allows for all 11 players to be wearing eligible numbers.

The A-11 offense uses the free kick rule to put 11 eligible numbers on the field. They still have to be eligible by formation, so the offense will shift to around and a little more than a second before the ball is snapped (necessary to be legal) 6 players will step up to the los. Therefore on any given play, the defense will not know which players are eligible to go down field until the last second before the ball is snapped. Remember per the free kick rule, one of the 11 is more than seven yards deep, but the ball doesn't necessarily have to be snapped to him.

Obviously it is cutting edge and risky. The problem is it is using a specific exception rule to create a new way of playing the game. Some will say that defenses have the upper hand with disguising coverages blitzes, shifting, etc. But offenses must declare and be stationary. Remember however, only the offense knows what the offense is going to do, that's a pretty big advantage.
As for the legality, for me at least it looks as though for now North Carolina sees this as a violation of the 9-9-3 rule. That is using something not covered by the rules to create an unfair advantage. Check this out from one the NC ref conversations about A-11

It is not "very legal" in NC.The offense calls for 11 players with eligible numbers on the field, using the scrimmage kick formation numbering axception.The snapper lines up over the ball with other 10 players off the line of scrimmage.Prior to the snap, 6 of the 10 players move up to the LOS, set for one second and the ball is snapped.When in a regular formation, the defennse knows what 6 players are eligible and what 5 players, numbered 50-79, are ineligible.In the A-11, the defense has no idea which 6 of those 10 players are going to step up to the LOS until 1 second before the snap. That places the defense at a huge disadvantage, NOT intended by the rules.The scrimmage kick formation is designed to allow athletes onto the field in a kicking situation. It's an exception to the rules for KICKING situations, not a formation to build an offense around. As I said, the NCAA rule already requires that the scrimmage kick formation only be used in obvious kicking situations. I expect the NFHS to re-word their rule if the offense becomes very widespread.9-9-3A player or nonplayer or person not subject to the rules shall not hinder play by an unfair act which has no specific rule coverage.When I inquired of the NCHSAA concerning the A-11 last spring, I was told that we will penalize use of this offense as an unfair act. The penalty for violation of 9-9-3 is USC on the head coach. A second USC flag in a game results in a disqualification.

later

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