Yuku free message boards

I don't know the high school rule, but I know it is legal in the NFL. The kick following a safety is a free kick. A free kick can be recovered by the kicking team after it crosses the other team's restraining line (10 yards), irrespective of how it is put in the air.

The reason punts can't be recovered by the kicking team has nothing to do with the fact that the action of the ball is a punt-type kick, but because of the purpose of a punt play from scrimmage: it is a voluntary cession of possession to the other team in exchange for field position. If the kicking team were allowed to recover it freely, you would incentivize them to punt the ball downfield and try to recover it in the mad scramble in an effort at quickly advancing the ball.

However, although a punt following a safety is recoverable like an onside kick, it would be difficult. Until the ball hits the ground, the receiving team is entitled to an unimpeded opportunity to catch the ball on any free kick. So, if you punt your free kick after a safety, the opposing team is entitled to signal for a fair catch and you can't interfere with their crack at catching it. This is part of the reason why a "normal" onside kick is kicked hard into the ground immediately: it kills the receiving team's right to a chance at catching it (since it has touched the ground). An additional benefit, of course, is that it gets it bouncing and a properly timed and sized bounce is critical to recovering an onside kick