Can You Identify These 10 Signals Rarely Used by Texas Referees

I was broadcasting at a Texas high school football game a few weeks ago. There was a penalty on a play, and the referee gave the following signal:

I thought I had excellent knowledge of football fouls and their corresponding signals, but I could not identify this penalty. From a distance and with my terrible eyesight, it looked like the official was beating his chest, but I knew there wasn't a penalty for impersonating Tarzan.

It was a 15-yard penalty but I had no idea what the foul was.

A Visit From the Referee

The following week, that referee, Jonathan Grace, stopped by my workplace to educate me on what that mystery signal meant. He told me it was an illegal blindside block.

This occurs when a player initiates hard contact with an opponent outside their field of vision or in a way that makes it difficult for the opponent to defend themselves. This is considered a personal foul and carries with it a 15-yard penalty.

Grace told me it's a rather new signal and not one that gets called very often.

How About Some Other Uncommon Signals?

I asked Jonathan if he would be willing to put on his official referee uniform and go through a series of somewhat uncommon penalty signals. I would then feature those signals in a photo gallery to see if football fans could currently identify the corresponding foul.

Jonathan agreed...so let's see how many of these 10 signals you can identify. But first, a note that there continues to be a shortage of officials across East Texas. Click here to find out how to take the first steps to become a football official.