Ask the Ref: Placement of a lateral that goes out of bounds

Q: The sideline official called the pass a lateral. Neither of the teams recovered the ball before it went out of bounds 10 yards behind the original line of scrimmage. I assumed the ball would be marked on the nearest hash at the point where the ball went out of bounds. The official marked the ball back to the original line of scrimmage. Was this an accurate placement of the ball? - Brian Vining, Douglas

A: "In the scenario you have given us, the ball should have been marked ready for play at the nearest hash mark. An incomplete forward pass would put the ball back at the previous spot. In this play, the ball should be spotted at the inbounds spot where it went out of play and on the nearest hash mark (Rule 4.3)." - Bill Palmer, Northeast Georgia Officials Association

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