NCAA football panel out to shorten games; player safety goal Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck Hall of Famer Ault among 3 joining CFP selection committee

The college football administration is looking at ways to reduce the number of games played in the name of player safety, and the first step is likely to be to adjust clock procedures.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee meets this week in Indianapolis, and the recommendations it made and approved in the spring will go into effect next season.

Steve Shaw, NCAA secretary rules editor and official coordinator, said the Subdivision Bowl’s average games per game has hovered around 180 over the past three seasons. In NFL games, the average is 154.

The conference commissioners would like to reduce this number in order to reduce the possibility of player injuries. The issue has gained urgency because some teams will play more games as the college football playoffs expand. In the 2024-25 season the playoffs are increased from four to 12 teams, after which further expansion is possible.

The proposal that the game clock should continue to run when a team makes their first try, except in the last two minutes of a half, was widely supported. Currently, the clock stops at the first down until the referee signals ready to play. A study by the rules committee last season suggested that if the clock kept moving, there would be about eight games cut per game.

An eight-game cut in a 12-game season would save 96 possible injuries per team, and playoff teams would have 100 fewer injuries.

“It’s probably having a significant impact,” Shaw said. “This number is correct? I don’t know. But let’s start with a conservative approach and see what that gives, and keep looking at it.”

A more radical suggestion would be for the clock to start running after the ball has been seen after an incomplete pass. Currently, in both collegiate and professional play, the clock starts after the snap.

Tulane sporting director Troy Dannen, who chairs the football competitions committee, said there is minimal support for moving clocks in the event of unfinished matches. A rule committee study showed a wide range of how many games could be saved due to different attacking styles, but the average was 17.

The downside could be that coaches of fast paced systems may try to speed up their attacks even more to cram in more plays, thus defeating the purpose of the change.

The Rules Committee is also considering changing the procedure when a penalty is imposed at the end of a quarter. Currently, the next game is an untimed down-down if a penalty applies. The procedure will not change at the end of the second and fourth quarters, but games not settled at the end of the first and third quarters will be carried over to the next quarter.

Another proposal more in line with the reduction in game length, which last season averaged 3 hours and 27 minutes, makes it impossible for teams to call consecutive time-outs during the same dead ball period.

Dannen, whose committee of athletic directors and faculty representatives contribute to the rules committee, said determining the proper number of games in a game would continue to be a matter of debate.

“A lot more data will be collected in the next year or two,” he said. “I don’t think there’s an answer that if you played 150 times it would inevitably be safer than 160 or 220. Now the big effort is, ‘How can we not increase the number of games as the playoffs increase? »

ATLANTA – Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carterconsidered one of the top picks in next month’s NFL Draft, has been charged with reckless driving and racing in connection with a crash that killed an offensive lineman. Devin Willock and recruiter.

The Athens-Clark County Police Department issued an arrest warrant, obtained Wednesday by the Associated Press, alleging that Carter raced his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against a 2021 Ford Expedition driven by recruiter Chandler LeCroy, 24, who led to the crash site on January 15th.

According to Lt. Sean Barnett of the Athens-Clark County Police Department, Carter was scheduled to come to Indianapolis on Wednesday for an NFL reconnaissance meeting and is expected to review the arrest warrant when he returns to Athens.

“My understanding is that Mr. Carter is making arrangements to turn himself in,” Barnett said in an email to the AP.

Carter, one of six players who were not present Wednesday for scheduled media interviews at the mill, released a statement on his Twitter account saying he expects to be “fully exonerated for any criminal offenses.”

“I received a call this morning from the Athens, Georgia Police Department, informing me that two misdemeanor warrants were issued against me for reckless driving and racing,” Carter said. “This morning, numerous reports circulated in the media containing inaccurate information about the tragic events of January 15, 2023. I intend to return to Athens to answer the wrongdoing charges brought against me and to make sure that the full and exact truth is presented. I have no doubt that when all the facts are known, I will be fully acquitted of any criminal offences.”

The accident came just hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship with a parade and ceremony, killing Lecroy and Willock.

Georgian coach Kirby Smart expressed concern about the allegations in a statement released Wednesday.

“The allegations announced today are deeply disturbing, especially as we are still grappling with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community,” Smart said.

“We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities in supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this terrible tragedy.”

According to the arrest warrant, an investigation by Athens police found that Lecroy and Carter were driving their cars “in a manner appropriate to racing” after they left downtown Athens at approximately 2:30 am.

The warrant says the evidence shows the cars changed lanes, drove into the center turn lane, drove into oncoming lanes, overtook other motorists and drove at high speed “in an apparent attempt to overtake each other.”

Police determined that shortly before the crash, Lecroy’s expedition was moving at about 104 miles per hour (167 kilometers per hour). The warrant states that Lecroy’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident was 0.197. The legal limit in Georgia is 0.08.

Willock, 20, died at the scene of the accident. Lecroy was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith became emotional on Wednesday while talking about Willock at the Scouting Combine.

“This is the first time I’m talking about this,” Smith said. “This is my boyfriend. This is the only person who has never done anything wrong. I get sensitive just talking about it because I love him. He has never done anything wrong in his three years.”

Forward lineman Warren McClendon, who had just announced plans to enter the NFL Draft, suffered minor injuries in the accident. Georgia national football team member Victoria Bowles has been hospitalized with more serious injuries.

The Jan. 15 crash wasn’t the only recent incident in which a Georgia player was charged with racing and speeding. Midfielder Jamon Dumas-Johnsonthe second-highest tackler in 2022, was arrested on Feb. 22 on charges of reckless driving and racing.

According to Athens-Clark County prison records, Dumas-Johnson was released on February 23 after posting an aggregate bond of $4,000-$2,500 for alleged highway/street racing and $1,500 for alleged reckless driving.

Georgia Athletic Department officials said on January 28 that the car Lecray was driving was to be used for recruitment only and not for personal use.

IRVING, Texas. Hall of Famer Chris Ault of Nevada, Washington Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen and Miami, Ohio Athletic Director David Seiler will join the 13-member College Football Playoff selection committee next season.

The CFP on Wednesday announced three new members to replace Tim Berman’s Wyoming AD, Colorado AD. Rick George and former Penn State and NFL player John Urschel on a panel that selects the four teams that play in the national championship.

CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock also told the AD of the state of North Carolina Boo Corrigan will serve as chairman of the committee for one more season.

The new members will serve on the committee for three years.

The 2023 season will be the last in which the playoffs are played in a four-team format. The CFP will expand to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season.

Ault spent three different spells as Nevada’s coach from 1976 to 2012, going 234–108–1. He is credited with inventing the pistol offense, where the running back lines up behind the quarterback in a shotgun formation.

In 2002, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.