INELIGIBLE RECEIVERS
Article 6 Ineligible Receivers. All offensive players other than those identified in Article 5 above are ineligible to catch a legal or illegal forward pass thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, including:
(a) Players who are not on either end of their line or at least one yard behind it when the ball is snapped.
(b) Offensive players wearing numbers 50-79, unless they have reported a change in their eligibility status
to the Referee and have assumed a position on their line or in their backfield as required by Article 5;
(c) Players who fail to notify the Referee of being eligible when required;
(d) An eligible receiver who has been out of bounds prior to or during a pass, even if he has reestablished himself inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands
Exception: If an eligible receiver is forced out of bounds by a foul by a defender, including illegal contact, defensive holding, or defensive pass interference, he will become eligible to legally touch the pass (without prior touching by another eligible receiver or defender) as soon as he re-establishes himself inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands. See Article 8, Note 3.
(e) A player who takes his stance behind center as a T-formation quarterback is not an eli
ILLEGAL TOUCHING OF A FORWARD PASS
Article 8 Illegal Touching of a Forward Pass. It is a foul for illegal touching if a forward pass (legal or
illegal), thrown from behind the line of scrimmage:
(a) is first touched intentionally or is caught by an ineligible offensive player; or
(b) first touches or is caught by an eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds, either of his own volition or by being legally forced out of bounds, and has re-established himself inbounds.
Penalty: Loss of five yards.
Note 1: If a forward pass (legal or illegal) is caught by an ineligible offensive player, the ball remains alive.
Note 2: The bat of a pass in flight by any player does not end a pass, nor does it change the impetus if the bat
sends it in touch.
Note 3: If a player touches the ball after having been out of bounds, but prior to re-establishing himself inbounds with both feet or any part of his body other than his hands, the pass is incomplete, and there is no penalty for illegal touching.