COLUMBUS, Ohio- Kickoffs have always been Urban Meyer’s secret weapon. With that special teams play in particular, it gave up and coming players and opportunity to show what they could do on the football field. Now, that advantage for Ohio State may be in jeopardy.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee is proposing a rule that any fair catch inside the 25-yard line would result in a touchback, giving a team that ability to start an offensive possession at the 25-yard line. According to the NCAA, the reasoning is to protect players who get injured in attempts to pin opponents as close to the goal line as possible.

Meyer said, Tuesday, that he has not thought much about this specific rule change, calling it one of the toughest plays, not only in football, but also in all of sport. As for the advantage pinning opponents near the goal line, Ohio State has done the research to back it up.

“The history lesson around here, kickoff has been dynamic,” Meyer said. “I know we've had a couple of bad ones, but when you start talking about the accumulation of yardage gained by pinning the team down around the 10-yard line, we did it five-year, six year study of it, it's been overwhelmingly positive. So that's a weapon we're having taken away from us.”

This is a mentality that Ohio State has lived and died by as of late. Last season, the Buckeyes finished fifth in the Big Ten in kickoff coverage, recording a net average of 41.8 yards per kick. However, with the best scoring offense in the conference, Ohio State led the Big Ten in kickoffs, recording 11 more than the second place team, Penn State.

Even though Ohio State was fifth in kickoff coverage, net yardage is not the main factor in successful kickoff strategy. With a combination of Blake Haubeil and Sean Nuerberger, at times, manning the kickoff game, the Buckeyes recorded touchbacks on 11.5 percent of all kickoffs last season, the second-lowest percentage in the Big Ten.

However, the Buckeyes had the second-lowest amount of touchbacks in the conference last season, with Maryland recording five on 58 kickoffs. Both Maryland and Rutgers, who had only 14 touchbacks on 46 attempts, each had head coaches, D.J. Durkin and Chris Ash, who had previously coached under Meyer.

Instead of touchbacks, Ohio State kickers pin the returner between the sideline and the hashmark. With a kick that has a four-second-hand time, Ohio State, using young, but very quick players, are near the 25 to 30-yard line when the returner initially catches the ball, with the collision occurring at, ideally, the 15-yard line or before

Under former special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs, kickoff coverage was where a player earned his stripes, earning playing time based on his ability in special teams. With the new roles that could be in place, that advantage that the Buckeyes have could be taken away.