New NCAA injury rules will keep Florida fans from worrying about Lane Kiffin tactic

If there is one nice thing we can say for Florida Football coach Billy Napier, it is that he is mostly an honorable man. The Gators, for the most part, haven't devolved into some of the slimy tactics we have seen around the country when it comes to faking injuries or manipulating the play clock with slow defensive substitutions.

However, not everyone is as honorable, and because of people like Lane Kiffin, the NCAA has been forced to step in and, for once, be the adults in the room.

Florida Football: Stay Upright

The NCAA announced a new rule for the 2025 season designed to address players faking injuries.

Per the NCAA:

"Under the new rule, if medical personnel enter the field to evaluate an injured player after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew for the next play, that player's team will be charged a timeout.

If a team does not have any timeouts remaining, a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed."

In other words, at the end of each play, there is usually a five-second window from the play ending to the ball getting spotted. If a player is deemed hurt during that window, then it is business as normal.

But what this rule is designed to prevent is what we have seen Kiffin and others start to abuse and have players magically go to the ground 10+ seconds after a play ends in an attempt to stop offensive momentum.

Now, one could argue this is an overreaction and players will be harmed by the rule. Two years ago, Graham Mertz broke his collarbone but was so hyped up on adrenaline that he popped straight up and participated in the next play before leaving.

There is concern that some players with legit injuries will be forced to power through an extra play and create further damage.

If that happens, it falls on the adults in the room who wouldn't stop abusing a loophole and left the NCAA with no other choice.