re: Did out of bounds Bama player have to reestablish himself to become a legal participant

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Dude, he had just started to grab it when the other guy swatted it from his hands. If that swat came a split-second later, then yes he would have had possession by then. Merely placing your hands on the ball for an instant does not constitute "possession." If it did, then all of the dropped passes would be considered fumbles too.

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To catch a pass, a player:

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1. Secures firm control with the hand(s) or arm(s) of a live ball in flight before the ball touches the ground, and
2. Touches the ground in bounds with any part of his body, and then
3. Maintains control of the ball long enough to enable him to perform an act common to the game, i.e., long enough to pitch or hand the ball, advance it, avoid or ward off an opponent, etc.

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Satisfaction of all three elements is required, otherwise, as you pointed out, a lot of dropped passes would be considered fumbles.

Brooks clearly did not maintain control long enough to make a football move, so if this was a question of whether or not Brooks made an interception (assuming he had gotten his fingertips on a live pass before it hit the ground), the answer would be no.

But for mere possession, Brooks only had to satisfy the equivalent of elements 1 and 2 of the "catch" rules.

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The ball is in player possession when a player has the ball firmly in his grasp by holding or controlling it while contacting the ground inbounds.

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