“There’s the kickoff and we’re under way!” How many times have we heard a football announcer’s excited introduction to the start of a game, the opening kickoff? It may be that a decision Friday by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approving last month’s proposal by the NCAA Football Rules Committee may signify the approaching end of the kickoff in college football.

But that is not what this rule has done yet.

The new rule is that any fair catch of a kickoff made between the goal line and the 25-yard line will be a touchback with the receiving team starting with the ball at the 25-yard line. That, however, doesn’t make it mandatory.

Kenyan Drake’s memorable kickoff return

Who doesn’t remember Kenyan Drake taking a Clemson kickoff at the 5-yard line in the national championship game in Phoenix a couple of years ago? The receiving team may elect to not call for a fair catch and return the ball.

The new rule, of course, is in the interest of player safety, which is paramount in importance. The expectation is that the new rule will lead to many more touchbacks and to a significant redution in the number of the so-called sky kickoffs, high pops designed to be caught deep with the idea of the coverage unit being able to down the return man inside the 20.

But it doesn’t outlaw the sky kick, which could still be used to guard against a long kickoff.

The new rule follows 2012 rules changes designed to produce more touchbacks – the kickoff point moved up from the 30 to the 35 and the touchback resulting in the ball at the 25 rather than the 20.

Meanwhile, coverage players will continue to run fullspeed downfield to collide with return blockers, at least until the ball is blown dead.

And beyond that, there are proposals that would further reduce the chance of injury (replacing the kickoff with a punt) or doing away altogether with the ball just being given to a team at the 25 to start a game or a half and following a score.

That was the rule that will be most evident beginning in 2018, but there were others.