[BostonCard]

Good points all.  For every Solomon Thomas who left after three years despite redshirting, there's an Aziz Shittu who played as a true freshman but didn't contribute much until his senior season and could have been superlative as a redshirt senior, had he eligibility remaining.  And yeah, for guys like McCaffrey, the call to play right away was the correct one, while for someone like Caspers, we are all glad he was around for a redshirt season.  In fact, the staff played the offensive line class of 2012 just about perfectly, playing Murphy, Garnett, and Peat, none of whom would likely have stuck around for a redshirt senior season (maybe Murphy), and redshirting Shuler and Caspers.  Shuler didn't wind up staying for a fifth year, but that was unrelated to football.

Still, redshirting is as much an art as a science, and some guys you burn shirts because you think they will grow into solid contributors as the season progresses don't (Robinson - 6 games, 7 tackles; Stewart 2 catches for 17 yards).  Then again, those guys might have monster seasons in a couple years and the whole discussion is moot.

BC

[BostonCard]

Good points all.  For every Solomon Thomas who left after three years despite redshirting, there's an Aziz Shittu who played as a true freshman but didn't contribute much until his senior season and could have been superlative as a redshirt senior, had he eligibility remaining.  And yeah, for guys like McCaffrey, the call to play right away was the correct one, while for someone like Caspers, we are all glad he was around for a redshirt season.  In fact, the staff played the offensive line class of 2012 just about perfectly, playing Murphy, Garnett, and Peat, none of whom would likely have stuck around for a redshirt senior season (maybe Murphy), and redshirting Shuler and Caspers.  Shuler didn't wind up staying for a fifth year, but that was unrelated to football.

Still, redshirting is as much an art as a science, and some guys you burn shirts because you think they will grow into solid contributors as the season progresses don't (Robinson - 6 games, 7 tackles; Stewart 2 catches for 17 yards).  Then again, those guys might have monster seasons in a couple years and the whole discussion is moot.

BC