How the NCAA’s updated horse-collar tackle rule just went against Oklahoma State

In the first quarter against West Virginia, Oklahoma State’s Cole Walterscheid was flagged for a horse collar tackle after this sack of Will Grier.

The horse collar rule has traditionally referred to tackles in which the defender drags down the ball-carrier by grasping the inside of the collar, but the NCAA expanded the rule for 2017.

Here’s how the new rule works:

Horse collar tackles can now include the outside of the jersey [emphasis added to the head of officiating’s explanation].

The nameplate area of the jersey is added to the inside collar of the shoulder pad and jersey as places where it is illegal for a tackler to grab a ball carrier and immediately pull him to the ground.

The committee recognizes that on occasion a tackler grabs the nameplate area and jerks the ball carrier down, with the same effect as if his grip was on the collar.

The point of the rule is to make it so players can’t be dragged down by their upper backs, which can lead to all sorts of injuries. In that sense, it doesn’t matter a whole lot whether the defender’s hand is inside the jersey or outside of it, though this does make it trickier for coaches to teach.

This controversial 2013 play would definitely be a horse collar now:

If Walterscheid’s hand had been a few inches lower or to the right, I doubt it would’ve been flagged, and he certainly didn’t go out of his way to try and injure anybody here. Like targeting, it’s often a very difficult thing for a player moving at full-speed to avoid.

It’s hard to picture this leading to many more flags than usual, but any fans who don’t know about the change will be aghast when a newly banned call goes against their teams. Good thing you know!