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Cincinnati Bearcats place kicker Nathan Hawks (63) kicks the opening kickoff in the first quarter during an NCAA college football. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Will NFL’s new kickoff format be adopted by college football?

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/28/24

Typically when the NFL implements a major rule change, it doesn’t take long for that same change to happen in college football.

When the NFL moved its kickoff line from the 30 to the 35-yard line, college football did the same. When the league eliminated wedge blocking, college football followed suit. And now that the NFL is adopting a new hybrid kickoff format, it feels likely the NCAA will do so as well in the not-too-distant future.

Many special teams coordinators are already bracing for the kickoff rule change as early as the 2025 season, and some are already working on getting ahead of the curve.

“A lot of the special teams drills that I've used in practice really end up playing out a lot like what the NFL is doing, because you're trying to reduce the amount of space to reduce the impact,” University of Buffalo head coach Pete Lembo told 247Sports. “You're trying to reduce the space to increase the number of reps that you can get in a short period in practice.”

Twenty-nine of the 32 teams voted in favor of the NFL’s new kickoff. The three dissenters, per sources: The Packers, 49ers and Raiders. pic.twitter.com/xd7byZS8Fa
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 26, 2024

Under the new NFL kickoff rules, the ball will be kicked off from the 35-yard line with the 10 other players on the kicking team lining up at the opposing team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team will have at least seven players lined up between its 30- and 35-yard lines with no more than two returners lined up between their own 20-yard line and end zone.
Once the ball is in the air, the kicker can’t cross midfield and his teammates can’t move until it’s fielded by a returner, it touches the ground or it goes into the end zone. Likewise for the non-returners on the receiving team.

The changes are designed to cut down on the number of injuries while also allowing the number of returns to increase.

The new format was adopted from the XFL, which had approximately 97 percent of its kickoffs returned last season compared to just a 22 percent return rate in the NFL. Return rates for Power 5 conferences in 2023 ranged between 30 and 40 percent.

“It's almost like another offensive play,” Air Force special teams coordinator Tim Horton said. “These NFL kickers will land the ball at the 5-yard line and five yards from the sideline, so at least two-thirds of the time the offense starts around the 20.”

Added UCF special teams coordinator Brian Blackmon: “I actually like it. I think it simplifies the phase, reduces big collisions and reduces the run load on guys by removing 60-yard sprints on touchbacks. It also will open up more returns and put a premium on field position. It makes it more like a punt return play than a current kickoff return.”

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