The "tush push," the modern version of the quarterback sneak that's all the rage in the NFL and this week has Vikings fans raging, will not be showing up soon on play sheets for high school teams.

The play is illegal in high school. It runs afoul of Rule 9-1 in the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) football rules, under the label "Helping the Runner." It reads: "An offensive player shall not push, pull or lift the runner to assist his forward progress."

The NFHS made it a point of emphasis for high school officials in 2023. It came into play during the Nine-Player Prep Bowl game, costing Kingsland an 87-yard touchdown run in a 14-12 loss to Nevis.

The tush push shows up in many NFL games this season, made popular by the Philadelphia Eagles and used when a yard or less is needed for a first down or touchdown, the classic situation for a quarterback sneak. The strategy is for linemen to get low enough that they lift the ball carrier and propel him forward while he's also pushed from behind. The Vikings tried it twice against Cincinnati, failing to pick up a first down both times. They've been criticized for having wide receiver Brandon Powell, small at 180 pounds, in the pushing position.

"The tush push has definitely seen a surge in popularity at the higher levels of football, which results in a trickle-down effect into the high school and youth levels," said Jason Nickleby, the Minnesota State High School League's coordinator of officiating services and also a college football official who works in the Big Ten and elsewhere.

Nickleby deals with the rule on the college and prep levels. In high school games, "our guidance to officials is that they should rule that forward progress has stopped in most cases when a true tush push takes place," he said. There's a subtlety in play: "It is not illegal to push a pile, only the runner," he said.

"In the Prep Bowl, the judgment of the game official was that the runner's teammate lifted him to assist in forward progress," Nickleby said. "That is a point of emphasis from the NFHS, and that call is expected to be made if the officials feel it has a material effect on assisting the runner's forward progress."

In college games, Rule 9-3-2b applies, Nickleby said. "The only time this is called at the college level is when a teammate picks up a runner and throws them forward or pulls their arms/body to assist in obtaining more yardage," he said.