Can kickers be called for a false start?
Yes, and officials missed an egregious false start on Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship in the final minute of the Rose Bowl.
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With 55 seconds remaining in the national semifinal, Nick Chubb scored on a two-yard touchdown run, which sent Blankenship out to tie with the game with an extra point. As the sophomore kicker lined up the game-tying attempt and awaited the snap, he took an inadvertent step forward. Then he took another one. And another one.
Can the kicker get called for false start? Or illegal motion? pic.twitter.com/14VbJcm8l8
— Andrew Doughty (@Adoughty88) January 2, 2018
Instead calling Blankenship for false start — or illegal motion since he was moving forward at the snap — officials let the play go and awarded Georgia the point.
As pointed out by Twitter users, kickers have been called for false start before, including in 2010:
