In a rule that will certainly rub Baylor DL Shawn Oakman the wrong way, the NCAA has prohibited “overbuilt” face masks.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Seth Emerson, this includes face masks “that basically cover almost all of the face.” SEC coordinator of officials Steve Shaw offered up reasoning (via AJC):
“These things are so heavy, they’re potential (to hurt) integrity of the helmet. But then also the weight begins to pull guy’s heads down, and clearly we want guy’s heads up. And then the third (reason) was guys get fingers stuck in. You could see, you could get your hand stuck in there.