Can the kicking team try an onside kick after a safety? I know they have the option to punt or kick from tee. Radio announcer mentioned it during a game friday night and it didn't happen.
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NCAA 9-16-7 When a player other than the one who blocks a kick runs into the kicker it is a foulThis is true in high school as well, sort of. I don't know the exact wording of the NCAA rule, but in NFHS it just says the defense touches the kick near the kicker and contact is unavoidable.
In the play where VT blocked the punt, that would NEVER be called running into the kicker or roughing the kicker by a referee who understands the philosophy of this rule. The reason this rule exists is because some people think that if a kick is touched then it's open season on the kicker. There are no free hits on a kicker, but if a rusher did his job well enough to get a hand on the ball, then he's probably going to be close enough to make contact with the kicker.
Let's say Player 1 gets a hand on the ball and Player 2 is a couple steps away, hears the thud of contact (that sound is very identifiable) and decides to give the kicker a shot. If this hit could have been avoided, this is a foul. If the contact was deemed to be avoidable, Player 2 must have been far enough away that he wasn't going to block the kick and he should have avoided it. As mentioned, there are no free hits on kickers.
On the other hand, say Player 1 gets a hand on the ball and Player 2 is very close, but misses, and in his effort to block the kick he hits the kicker. This should be OK because it is not what the rule is designed to prevent. When two players are that close and one makes contact, it's very hard to know for certain which one contacted the ball.
I'll see what I can find out about the NCAA rule and it's philosophy.