There’s a video currently making the rounds on social media featuring some of the most violent hits administered by Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, arguably the best, most ferocious linebacker in football history.
It’s a highly entertaining reel that offers a stark contrast to the way the game has evolved in that virtually every play it contains would be considered illegal and penalized under today’s rules.
The fact that steps have been taken to protect the health and safety of those who play the game is a positive and one of the few things the NCAA has gotten right in recent years. But there’s still more that needs to be done, especially as it pertains to the ambiguity and arbitrary nature of its controversial targeting rule.
Ask any 10 players, coaches, officials, fans or media members to explain what constitutes targeting and you’re likely to get 10 different answers from each group. The interpretation of the offense often changes from game-to-game, quarter-to-quarter and sometimes even play-to-play.
And it has become a source of frustration for everyone involved, including Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who voiced his displeasure with the rule – and its harsh punishment – after star linebacker Sammy Brown was flagged for targeting and ejected from a game against Pittsburgh in 2024.
“I don’t know (what targeting is),” he said during his postgame press conference that day, before asking members of the media: “Do y’all know? Because I sure don’t. It changes from week-to-week across the country.”
The official wording of the rule, which was adopted in 2008 and updated in 2020, defines targeting as “any hit that goes beyond making a legal tackle, league block or playing the ball.” It specifically prohibits players from initiating a hit while leading with the crown of the helmet or by making forcible contact with the helmet to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent.
Even if the contact is inadvertent.
If a targeting call is upheld upon review, the offending player is ejected from the game. If the infraction takes place during the second half, the player must also sit out the first half of his team’s next game.
That sounds simple enough in black and white. The problem, as with all judgment calls, is that things can get complicated because of all the grey area that’s involved – specifically when determining what exactly constitutes a “defenseless” player and where the helmet’s crown begins and ends.
“I think the language in (the rule) puts the refs in a tough spot,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said after a disputed targeting call last season.
In 2019, the American Football Coaches Association proposed a plan to institute a two-tiered plan that would give officials the option of calling a 15-yard penalty without an ejection for less egregious hits to the head. But it was never adopted.
Calls for changes to the rule were revived this offseason after Miami defensive back Xavier Lewis was suspended for the first half of the national championship game against Indiana because of a targeting call late in the Hurricanes’ semifinal win against Ole Miss. Lucas’ coach, Mario Cristobal, openly criticized the call and the rule, saying that it “unjustly” affected his team’s chances in the title contest.
According to a joint statement released this week by the National Football Foundation and College Football Officiating, the NCAA’s Rules Committee is continuing to evaluate changes that “will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game and enhance the student-athletes’s health and safety.”
While members of the committee try to figure out how to do that as it pertains to the targeting rule, they’ve taken steps to make the consequences of the judgement call less severe by instituting an experimental tweak for the coming season.
Players judged to have committed a targeting penalty will still be ejected, but under the new guideline, their punishment will no longer carry over to the next game for a first offense. A second targeting infraction during the same season will carry a one-game suspension and a third will result in disqualification for the remainder of the year. No Division I players were called for more than two targeting penalties during the 2025 season.
An appeal process has also been instituted that allows for a targeting call to be rescinded upon review by the national coordinator of officials.
It’s one of several rules changes announced for 2026. Among the most significant are the addition of a second replay challenge, the reduction of an offensive pass interference penalty from 15 to 10 yards, and an adjustment to the unsportsmanlike conduct rule to allow players more leeway in their on-field celebrations.
While the adjustments are being made to “stay in pace with the modern game,” at least one thing hasn’t changed. It’s still illegal to try and take an opponent’s head off the way Dick Butkus used to do it.
—photo courtesy of Miami Athletics