Kickoff Touchback or safety??

[Cherry5]

If it's kicked of and the other teams player is on the 5 yard line, it bounces off his hands and stops in the endzone. He kneels it. Touchback or safety? If someone knows the actual rule number that would be nice.

 

[kbjoe1]

im not a ref but as i understand if the ball is not fielded cleanly and it bounces into the endzone and downed by the team whos was recieving it is considered a touchback therefore they retain the ball and it is placed at the 20 to begin play.

 

[JasonTX]

Touchback is correct. The rulebook has a defintion called "Impetus". It's who is responsible for putting the ball in the end zone. Impetus is charged to the player who passes, runs, fumbles, bats, or kicks the ball into the end zone. A player that muffs the ball does not fall into those categories (unless the ball was completely still and at rest when it is muffed), so in your play, the impetus is still with the player who kicked the ball.

In the case that I bracketed when it's at rest when it gets muffed. That is the one time a muff would change impetus.