Eligible receiver

In American football and Canadian football, not all players on offense are entitled to receive a forward pass. Only an eligible pass receiver may legally catch a forward pass, and only an eligible receiver may advance beyond the neutral zone if a forward pass crosses the neutral zone. If the pass is received by a non-eligible receiver, it is "illegal touching" (five yards and loss of down). If an ineligible receiver is beyond the neutral zone when a forward pass crossing the neutral zone is thrown, a foul of "ineligible receiver downfield" (five yards, but no loss of down) is called. Each league has slightly different rules regarding who is considered an eligible receiver.

The NCAA rulebook defines eligible receivers for college football in Rule 7, Section 3, Article 3. The determining factors are the player's position on the field at the snap and their jersey number. Specifically, any players on offense wearing numbers between 50 and 79 are always ineligible. All defensive players are eligible receivers and offensive players who are not wearing an ineligible number are eligible receivers if they meet one of the following three criteria:

Players may only wear eligible numbers at an ineligible position when it is obvious that a punt or field goal is to be attempted.

If a player is to change between eligible and ineligible positions, they must physically change jersey numbers to reflect the position.

A receiver loses his eligibility by leaving the field of play unless he was forced out by a defensive player and immediately attempts to get back inbounds (Rule 7-3-4). All players on the field become eligible as soon as the ball is touched by a defensive player or an official during play (Rule 7-3-5).

In both American and Canadian professional football, every player on the defensive team is considered eligible. The offensive team must have at least seven players lined up on the line of scrimmage. Of the players on the line of scrimmage, only the two players on the ends of the line of scrimmage are eligible receivers. The remaining players are in the backfield (four in American football, five in Canadian football), including the quarterback. These backfield players are also eligible receivers. In the National Football League, a quarterback who takes his stance behind center as a T-formation quarterback is not eligible unless, before the ball is snapped, he legally moves to a position at least one yard behind the line of scrimmage or on the end of the line, and is stationary in that position for at least one second before the snap, but is nonetheless not counted toward the seven men required on the line of scrimmage.

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