Among changes in its January 24-25 board of directors meeting in Indianapolis:

Changes in Rules 7-2-5 and 2-14-2 clarify the numbering-exception rule from when it was originally approved in 1982.

"The definition of a scrimmage-kick formation was clarified to differentiate formations that have been used traditionally for attempting a field goal or kick try from those used for a punt," Colgate said. "In addition, the circumstances under which the numbering exception can be utilized have been changed to clarify what can be done on first, second, third and fourth downs."

The A-11, invented and developed by Kurt Bryan and Stan Humphries at Piedmont (Calif.) High in 2007, used the loophole in the rules that all 11 players were eligible to catch a pass if a team lined up in the scrimmage kick formation for every play. The rules committee has seemed to have closed that loophole.

So, a victory for slow, dim-witted linemen everywhere. Hey, I was one of those!

Of course, it remains to be seen how each state will interpret the rule change; some may ignore it completely, just as some had chosen to outlaw the A-11 before the new ruling ever came down. So we'll see.

Horse Collar Tackle To Be Penalized In High School Football [NFHS]

The A-11 is the innovative offensive formation invented by coaches at Piedmont High in Calif. in 2007, in which all players are eligible to catch a pass due to the offense lining up in a scrimmage kick formation. It's become the cool new thing to try at the high school level, and some colleges are even tinkering with variations of it. And, of course, some football purists are trying to have it banned.

So act now, before the whole thing is declared illegal (as it has been in parts of North Carolina, Montana and Louisiana). you can have the A-11 installed for your scrappy, undersized (in other words, hopelessly overmatched) prep team for the low introductory price of $199. Included will be:

• White Box Defensive Fronts.
• Shovel & Draw Package.
• Screens & Dinks.
• Bubbles.

And of course,

• Scissor Package.

Whether you like the offense or think it's a gimmick that should be outlawed, there's no denying that Piedmont coaches Kurt Bryan and Stan Humphries, who invented it, are turning it into a cottage industry. Visit the web site; buy the DVD. Play the video game (pending).

"The A-11 is here to stay," Bryan told me this past November. "I'm not saying that everyone is going to run it, but it's going to help change the game over the next 10-20 years from one that's slower and more confined to one that's going to become faster and more spread out."

A-11 Offense Installation Manual [American Football Monthly]

I visited a Piedmont practice last week and tried to wrap my t-formation sensibilities around America's newest football fad, and I thought I was starting to get it, until it began getting even weirder. So I gave up. That made starting quarterback Jeremy George laugh. He could relate.

"When I first saw coach draw it on the board, I thought he was joking," said George, a senior. "We're running all of our plays out of a special teams punt formation? The parents hated it. But now the only thing you hear in the stands is people yelling 'A-11!' "

"There was some harsh criticism in the community, but we were watching film every day and we knew we were on to something," said assistant coach Steve Humphries. He and head coach Bryan dreamed up the offense during a late-night bull session, as they tried to devise a way to make their diminutive roster competitive with other, larger schools. One way to do that would be to use two quarterbacks at the same time, Humphries thought. And then Bryan said, why not make all the players eligible to catch a pass? What the hell? Everybody go long!

What resulted is an offense with a touch of Tourette's, where anything can happen. Any five players on any given play are eligible to go downfield and catch a pass, and the defense never knows which five. With two quarterbacks in the backfield, no one under center and three receivers split wide on each side, it's basically a kick formation, where the standard receiver eligibility rules don't apply. There can be direct snaps to any of three players in the backfield, lots of end-arounds and reverses; a maddening array for any defense to defend.

"Our first opponent this season spent their entire spring working on defending the A-11," Bryan said. "We started 0-2 last season, but then we won our next seven straight, and by week six I'm getting calls from college coaches asking 'What is this?' "

"It took a lot of getting used to, a lot of studying," George said. "It requires you to think. That's a lot of pressure on me, but I like it."

Slowly, the momentum is beginning to build. Benedictine High in Georgia, Saddleback Valley Christian in San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) and Trimble Co. High in Bedford, Kentucky, all run the A-11. Saddleback is 9-0 overall. Bryan has put up a web site devoted to the offense where coaches can trade A-11 strategies.

Forty-one states have legalized the A-11. "But there's a loud minority out there who think that it's ruining football," Bryan said. "The truth is that today's athlete has changed. The field dimensions are the same, but the athletes aren't, and that's how the A-11 came to be.

"You heard the same type of detractors when the forward pass was invented in the early 20th century," he said. "But football evolved from a mob rule type of game to one that was more spread out and more safe, and it will evolve again. This offense is catching on, and these kids have a sense of ownership with it. It will be interesting to see how far they go."