Sep 26, 2018

  • Tom VanHaarenESPN Staff Author

    Shut

    • ESPN staff author
    • Joined ESPN in 2011
    • Graduated from Fundamental Michigan

Clemson knew information technology had a quarterback controversy when the No. ii-ranked player in the 2018 recruiting class, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, signed with the Tigers and stepped on campus.

Incumbent starter Kelly Bryant had won 12 games and led the Tigers to the Higher Football Playoff in 2017, but through the first few games of this flavor Lawrence kept nipping at his heels until ultimately he was named the starter by head charabanc Dabo Swinney after the 4th game.

The timing of that decision is no coincidence. The new redshirt dominion enacted this year by the Division I council states that a role player can participate in up to four games of a single season without burning his redshirt, thus saving a twelvemonth of eligibility. Redshirting this season will allow Bryant to eventually transfer equally a graduate and play immediately at the new program he chooses.

Back in June, ESPN asked anonymous banana coaches from the ACC, Pac-12 and SEC to help explain some of the finer points involving what this rule means and who would exist most impacted past it. Now that we are four games into the season, let's attempt to respond some questions you might have nearly how the redshirt rule tin can be applied.

Does this apply to all players?

Initially the idea was that this rule would mainly apply to incoming true freshmen. The first-year players could play in up to four games of the flavour and contribute and develop without called-for a redshirt.

We are seeing now that the rule is having a large impact on more than veteran players, using the dominion to determine if their playing time will diminish, like Bryant at Clemson.

The dominion does not discriminate confronting the number of years spent in a programme, so it applies non just to true freshmen but any player who has not participated in more than 4 games in a unmarried flavor.

The caveat to that is that the transfer rules even so apply, then if a third-twelvemonth histrion decides to redshirt for the season and transfer out after the season, he is still required to sit out the following year before existence eligible to play. The way around that is for a role player to graduate so transfer, which would let him to play immediately, similar to the way quarterback Joe Burrow did when he left Ohio Country for LSU.

Who are the high-profile veteran players who are already taking advantage of this?

Bryant is non the just veteran taking advantage of the new rule. Oklahoma Country coach Mike Gundy announced on Monday that wide receiver Jalen McCleskey would be transferring and that the schoolhouse will allow McCleskey to sit out the rest of the season to use his redshirt before he moves on to another plan.

Gundy said McCleskey didn't experience good about the Cowboys getting him the ball, despite that he had 15 receptions for 155 yards and ii touchdowns in the first four games. Allowing not-freshmen to utilize this rule could exist an event for roster management, co-ordinate to Gundy.

"If I was only to throw something out at that place, probably should be a rule that would exist consequent inside your first two years of eligibility," Gundy said. "So the NCAA'due south going to have to take a hard look, because right now the rules, forget Jalen's state of affairs, the rules don't permit the states to add a number to that. So let's say you had v guys do information technology, well I'm playing with 80 instead of 85 on scholarship at present and I can't supercede those numbers, fifty-fifty at the semester."

McCleskey is joined by Oregon senior running back Taj Griffin, Arkansas wide receiver Jonathan Nance and Auburn receiver Nate Craig-Myers and tight end Jalen Harris, who all intend to redshirt and transfer at the terminate of the season.

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley as well feels the spate of transfers means the NCAA may demand to make adjustments.

"As we go frontwards with this dominion, it may be something we need to look at," Riley said. "Because I don't know if it's good if you play a game for somebody that you should so be able to go play for somebody else or leave that year. I don't know. Maybe there should be a stronger penalty, potentially. I don't have the answers right now. We're all working through it."

Alabama coach Nick Saban noted on his radio evidence concluding calendar week that the intent of the dominion was to allow younger players to develop in real game activeness, simply Saban said he'south worried the use of the rule by older players volition start to cause bug for coaches trying to manage their rosters.

"Now, I think that people are manipulating the rule in terms of older players who may be thinking, 'I could be a graduate transfer, so maybe if I simply play in 4 games this yr, I'll take a place to play side by side year,'" Saban said. "I don't retrieve that was really the intent of the rule. It's probably one of those unintended consequences of what all rules sort of bring."

Which freshmen have made the virtually of the new rule?

Lawrence is 1 of the true freshmen who have made the nigh of the first four games of the season. Coming in every bit the No. 2-ranked prospect in the state, behind simply Georgia quarterback Justin Fields, many believed Lawrence would eventually earn significant playing fourth dimension, merely he has now been named the starter.

"Later iv games, just looking at it, they've both played well, only this came down to you have to reward productivity. [Lawrence] has taken advantage of [opportunities]," co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said Monday. "Kelly didn't do anything incorrect, but it's a situation where he's been in the game and productive, and to be fair to competition, simply like nosotros exercise for every position, Passenger vehicle [Swinney] decided to name him the starter."

Lawrence split time with Bryant in each of the first iv games, completing 39 of lx passes for 600 yards and 9 touchdowns along the style.

Fields has had less opportunities, completing 14 of 17 passes for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns at Georgia with Jake Fromm ahead of him on the roster. Fields has appeared in all four games as well, though, so if he plays against Tennessee on Sat, his redshirt opportunity will be gone. A redshirt is very unlikely, merely the opportunity is there.

LSU senior left guard Garrett Brumfield has been ruled out for the Tigers' game against Ole Miss and coach Ed Orgeron said he is unsure when he will exist back. Lucky for LSU, freshman Chasen Hines has been able to come in on ii occasions when Brumfield went downward. Hines was originally a defensive lineman but switched to offensive line earlier in the year and is at present very probable to be the starting left guard in Brumfield's identify. He can fill in ii more than games before burning his redshirt.

How has the rule impacted playing fourth dimension for freshmen?

In 2017, Auburn played eleven true freshmen the entire season and 9 through the first four games. This season, the Tigers have played 21 first-year players, nine of whom have played in all four games.

Clemson has seen an increase equally well, playing xiii truthful freshmen so far this season, compared to eight in 2017. Among the thirteen, Lawrence, defensive lineman Xavier Thomas, broad receivers Justyn Ross and Derion Kendrick and kicker B.T. Potter have played in all 4 games.

Georgia increased its freshmen usage from fifteen last flavour to 20 this season; Notre Dame increased from x to 14; and Oklahoma played eight true freshmen last season compared to 14 in 2018, with three playing in all four games thus far. Penn State but played three true freshmen in 2017 just already has played 15 in 2018. Stanford has seen 8 truthful freshmen play in the first four games this flavour to four through the first 4 games of last flavour.

Those totals will probable change going forward. Not every player is going to play the whole flavor, and likely not every truthful freshman who will play this season has played. Coaches are being strategic nigh when to utilise their freshmen and how.

Texas jitney Tom Herman said he and his staff are learning every calendar week and coming up with new ideas daily to effigy out which games to employ his freshmen players.

"There will be some guys that maybe become injured early part of the flavour, and y'all maybe say, 'OK, let's accept the middle couple games here and only not do anything at all and so use [the redshirt rule] at the cease of the year,' and so you notwithstanding go that yr," Herman said. "That instance can be made for a lot of truthful freshmen besides that we've held off of special teams. That might accept been their but function back in the mean solar day, and you say, 'That's practiced enough for 10, fifteen snaps a game on special teams, y'all're going to contribute.'

"But now information technology'south similar, 'Well if we can simply save these, if we tin get past on special teams toward the end of the season, we can have a mass shift in the personnel and use a bunch of fresh truthful freshmen who had two months of training with us every bit well.'"

A few thoughts from some of the coaches we talked to in June:

What practise coaches retrieve of the new rule?

ACC coach: "I think, No. 1, every identify I've ever coached my entire life, a child has a story that he played fifteen snaps because at that place was an injury. He played 15 snaps or 30 snaps and lost an entire twelvemonth because of it. It's not off-white to him, considering he had to do it because of the injury, so now kids are safe from that. I also recall a lot of coaches, specially in nonconference play, volition be a lot more apt to play those deadline freshmen. Maybe he gets a taste of live activeness, he plays better with the motivation of playing time, and as a motorbus, y'all're not so worried about burning that kid'due south redshirt."

Pac-12 coach: "I recollect it'south a actually good affair. It could be motivation. If you go down and crush it on lookout team for the outset half of the flavour, now at that place's that motivation that we'll play you lot. Y'all don't have to await until next year. I don't see also many negatives with it."

SEC coach: "I think there's obviously more positive [impact]. The bulk of the kids who come up to college now are so far ahead physically, they're closer to beingness ready to play. The matter that is the unknown is how the kid is going to handle college mentally. Those are the things that usually concur some guys back. The only way you can determine that is to put them out in that location and play. It'll give yous an opportunity to put them out there under the lights and make a decision if this guy is a ii-game guy or a i-game guy."

Are there whatever negatives to the new rule?

SEC passenger vehicle: "I call up there are some things that will come from this, but I do think at that place'south going to be an influx of transfers. You play a child ii games and and then you pull him back; he goes through the whole year and he does everything you inquire. You get to the basin game and you're going to play that kid because you're anticipating he's going to contribute side by side yr. So yous're going to play that kid in the bowl game because it doesn't trigger his redshirt. There'due south going to be somebody on the team that says if you're already playing him in the basin game ahead of me, I'k probably not going to play adjacent year. And then that'southward going to create some transfers or movement."

What players could this bear on the most?

ACC coach: "That's going to be huge for quarterbacks. Especially a guy who's behind an established starter. If you practise it right, you basically have 4 seasons and 4 games, and I call back for the overall development of the kid, that will be huge. Ane of the unintended consequences of it, because of the rule, a lot more freshman quarterbacks will play. Just to keep them happy, proceed him there, hopefully don't transfer, you'll put him out at that place. On the flip side of that, when you have these v-star quarterbacks who tin play, but they're at a place with an established starter, now if they transfer, [other teams will] accept a lot more tape to look at. Yous're getting a lot more than grad transfers with ii years of eligibility, and now you'll have more than tape from bodily game film to scout."

SEC omnibus: "Offensive and defensive line is probably an surface area you won't come across information technology as much. Simply the skill positions, you lot might go a receiver who is physically gear up simply might not know the playbook, so information technology buys him some time."

Does the new dominion touch on Power 5 or Group of 5 schools more?

Pac-12 coach: "I don't know that it will necessarily impact either one more than the other. As far as those big-time recruits that people think will play correct abroad, you kind of have an idea with him that he'll play early. But what about the child that comes in and didn't have all the hype and he'southward just burdensome information technology on scout team? I remember in that location are more of those type of players at the Group of 5 level. You're bringing in 25 guys who aren't five-stars and you don't know how information technology's going to sort out."

SEC coach: "I think it helps the Group of 5 schools the most, because you lot're expanding the depth. If you can supervene upon that second-string walk-on with a freshman scholarship guy for four games, perchance you can win a few more [games]. Information technology helps those Group of 5 teams establish legitimate scholarship depth, and you're not playing with walk-ons. Your first-cord guy is good, and there'south a big drop off to your second string; now you tin can plug in a freshman and you give yourself a chance."

How do you choose which games to play your athletes in?

ACC bus: "I think in that location's going to be a whole science in terms of roster management with it. Allow's say everyone'due south healthy; now what four games practice we want to go guys experience in so they're better equally a redshirt freshman, sophomore and inferior? I don't think it will be a coating deal. With quarterbacks, you'll take coaches who will only play guys in blowouts, then you'll have the coaches who will say let'south be smart most it and get this child 10 reps in a rivalry game, fifty-fifty if it'due south just on special teams, and so he can be a part of it. The kids that are redshirting on the scout squad, let's get this kid 12 reps on kickoff and apply it equally a motivational tool. I call up there will exist some forward thinking if they use it as a motivational tool or developmental tool."

Pac-12: "The biggest reward of the whole affair is the attrition. Guys are going downward with injuries and the rosters aren't super big already. Now you can apply those four games to assist bridge injuries and yous're not burning a redshirt. And yous can save guys for the bowl games. We're seeing a lot of big-name guys not play in basin games, and I recall this will add an element to information technology. This child's going to be a top-x [draft] option and wants to preserve his interests. Well, now I can activate this freshman [in his identify], and he's getting better and more comfortable for the next flavor."

SEC coach: "We're not going to throw kids out there that aren't anywhere near ready; it'south non a test run. You put a corner out there and he doesn't become the check, it doesn't matter if yous're playing William & Mary or Alabama, he's going to become scored on. So exercise you lot use the guy who's ready in the showtime iv games to see what'south going on? In the middle of the season when the injury bug hits and you're trying to go through that? Do yous use him in one nonconference game and three briefing games? If I'grand Akron, I might non put him out there against Ohio State early on. For usa, it might make sense to put our kids out early to build some confidence, give him a legitimate chance to show what he tin can do. Information technology only depends on where you're at."