USA Football Rules Editor Bill LeMonnier is a former college referee who currently serves as an ESPN NCAA rules analyst. Click here to ask Bill a question. Make sure to put “Ask the Official” in the subject line.

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Can a quarterback throw the ball over a defender’s head, then catch it legally before it touches another player?

Players can throw backward passes as many times as they want.

As for a forward pass, yes – once and as long as the quarterback is wearing an eligible number (in high school and college). In the NFL, the thrower cannot legally catch his own pass until it is touched by another player.

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Clarifying an earlier question, does a center have to snap the ball between his legs in American football, or can he begin the play in any other way.

The “snap” does not need to travel through the center’s legs as long as it is delivered in one fluid motion.

A center may snap the ball to the side or across his hip or over his shoulder, but again, the motion must be fluid and there must not be extenuating circumstances in which the offense is engaging in an illegal deception.