The NFL is giving five of its officials the chance to audition to be future referees, or white hats. Since there are so few opportunities for the NFL to see how prospective referees would handle the new position, these pre-season tryouts are very important. The NFL will assign the four officials
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Dozens of officials to become full-time under plan from NFL and union
Practice fields become classrooms when officials attend training camp
30 officials audition for NFL positions
Photo from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'TfjW5bRzRO1WH2WxlWAE1w',sig:'xY1QpdoGGBL275S3-njIvnuI9fMSKI69ewxqyeeFeJA=',w:'594px',h:'416px',items:'627765608',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); The NFL has released the names of 30 officials taking part in the 2017 Officiating Development Program. These officials work NFL training camp and preseason games. They then return to officiate in college. The officials are considered finalists once a spot on the roster
Obscure substitution foul is now a warning before 15 yards assessed
In a series of wording changes in the latest edition of the rulebook, an obscure illegal substitution that fell under the category of unsportsmanlike conduct will now be issued following a warning. The foul came to light when it was enforced by referee Tony Corrente in last year's Divisional Playoff
Coaches now can be ejected for 2 unsportsmanlike fouls
Photo from Getty Images Not only was the automatic disqualification rule from last season's rules changes made permanent, but now, players will not be the only ones subject to ejection following two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls of a specific type in the same game. In the recently released 2017 edition of the
College football referee Ron Cherry retires
Embed from Getty Images Ron Cherry, one of the most recognizable college football referees for the last decade, has retired according to the Winston-Salem Journal. Cherry suffered a head injury in the USC-Notre Dame game last season and underwent emergency neurosurgery a month later to remove a blood clot. Famous calls Cherry officiated football