[CTcard]

CT, you know as well as I do that Luck COULD have played as a True Frosh because he was way better than Pritchard.

That's rather the point.

There are a myriad of reasons a particular player might be redshirting. As a fan, you basically don't know which is in operation for any particular case.

Thus, while a redshirt for a player because the guy ahead is better is not sign that the player won't become a star, a redshirt for an unknown reason is really no sign that the player won't become a star. 

As for Williams, let's look at the 2016 DL situation:

Sr. Watkins, Lohn, Kaumatule
Jr. Phillips (Soph in eligibility)
So. Thomas
RS Fr. Annan, Jackson
Fr.  Williams, Peek, Swann

I see seven non-frosh, which by itself is plenty. Whether they'll all actually be on the team next year and contribute is currently an unknown.

If we need to play a frosh, we could easily be in the same situation as 2014. The fact that Phillips was called upon was not an indication that Thomas would never be a star. I see no reason the same situation couldn't be repeated in 2016.

Even if Williams turns out to simply not be as good next year as any of those other seven (or really, about 4-5), or one of the other frosh, that mostly says something about how good he is as a true frosh - not how good he'll be later.

[CTcard]

CT, you know as well as I do that Luck COULD have played as a True Frosh because he was way better than Pritchard.

That's rather the point.

There are a myriad of reasons a particular player might be redshirting. As a fan, you basically don't know which is in operation for any particular case.

Thus, while a redshirt for a player because the guy ahead is better is not sign that the player won't become a star, a redshirt for an unknown reason is really no sign that the player won't become a star. 

As for Williams, let's look at the 2016 DL situation:

Sr. Watkins, Lohn, Kaumatule
Jr. Phillips (Soph in eligibility)
So. Thomas
RS Fr. Annan, Jackson
Fr.  Williams, Peek, Swann

I see seven non-frosh, which by itself is plenty. Whether they'll all actually be on the team next year and contribute is currently an unknown.

If we need to play a frosh, we could easily be in the same situation as 2014. The fact that Phillips was called upon was not an indication that Thomas would never be a star. I see no reason the same situation couldn't be repeated in 2016.

Even if Williams turns out to simply not be as good next year as any of those other seven (or really, about 4-5), or one of the other frosh, that mostly says something about how good he is as a true frosh - not how good he'll be later.