Minnesota Vikings

In gridiron (american) football, how do the referees determine which hashmark on which to place the football?

After each down, the ref places the football on the field in a specific position. How do they decide which hashmark on the field to use?

Public Comments

1. Which ever hashmark is closest to where the last tackle was made
2. they place it on the spot where the ball itself physically stopped making forward progress. which is why if you get tackled and fall backwards, it gets spotted where you first got tackled, and also why you may see people fall with their arms stretched out forwards trying to like touch the ball in the endzone.
3. The hash mark closest to where the last play was called dead.
4. The ball is placed on the nearest hashmark IF the play is stopped outside of the hashmarks. If the play is stopped inside of the hashmarks then the ball is placed exactly where the play was stopped.
5. They usually flip a coin.
6. The ball is placed where the forward progress was stopped and the ball was spotted. It has nothing to do with the marks on the field.
7. Whichever hashmark their guide dogs take them to.