---
slug: targeting
title: Targeting
depth_tier: entry
side: UNIVERSAL
category: Rules
source_id: "RUL-0019"
created: 2026-04-06
updated: 2026-05-16
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/targeting
aliases:
  - targeting foul
  - "helmet-to-helmet"
  - defenseless player foul
---
# Targeting

## Short Definition

A foul for forcible contact to the head or neck of a defenseless player, or leading with the crown of the helmet—carries automatic ejection in college football.

## Definition

Targeting is a personal foul for two specific acts: initiating contact against any player with the crown of the helmet, or making forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless player. In college football, targeting carries a 15-yard penalty and an automatic ejection—the most severe non-scoring consequence in the sport. In the NFL, equivalent contact is penalized under unnecessary roughness and illegal use of the helmet, without the automatic ejection provision, though repeat violators face fines and potential suspensions.

The rule addresses the most dangerous contact in football: spear tackles where a defender drops his head and launches with the crown of the helmet, and blows to the head of receivers who cannot protect themselves while in the act of catching. Both acts correlate directly with concussions and cervical spine injuries. The targeting rule is part of a broader safety reform movement that began in earnest in the 2000s as research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy and long-term brain injury in former players became public.

College football's ejection provision makes targeting the most consequential non-scoring call in the game—losing a starting linebacker or defensive back for the remainder of a contest on a call that is frequently contested. Every targeting call is reviewed by officials, and ejections confirmed by review stand for the remainder of the current game and extend into the first half of the next game if confirmed during the second half. The review process has improved consistency but not eliminated controversy over borderline calls.

The broader safety trajectory that targeting represents—from the 1906 flying wedge ban, through progressive quarterback protection rules, to the modern targeting ejection—reflects football's ongoing negotiation between the violence that makes the sport compelling and the physical cost that violence carries for players. The targeting rule is the current frontier of that negotiation.

## Example

"Safety leads with the crown of his helmet on a defenseless receiver crossing the middle. Flag down—targeting. Fifteen yards and the safety is ejected. The call will be reviewed. That's the rule protecting players at the point of maximum vulnerability."

## Common Confusion

Targeting is called for any big hit. The foul is specific: forcible contact to the head or neck area, or contact against a defenseless player with the crown of the helmet. A hard hit to the chest of a ball carrier who is not defenseless is legal. The foul is about the target area and the method of contact, not the force.

## Related

- roughing-the-passer
- unnecessary-roughness
- defenseless-player
- personal-foul
- concussion-protocol

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/targeting