[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=17193.msg197549#msg197549 date=1503423509]
This isn't that friggin difficult.

If a player will help you win, you play them.  If they aren't good enough to crack the two-deep, you don't.

You don't play them because they might not be around for their fourth or fifth year.
You don't play them because playing them today because it will give them experience.
You don't play them because of potential.
You sure as hell don't play them on the basis of their recruiting rankings.

Conversely, you don't redshirt them because you want to preserve a fifth year that may never come.

It's simple... does playing the freshman make you a better team?  Sometimes it's hard to judge, but that is the standard, and should be the only standard.

BC

I agree that you should, in fact must, play a freshman if you believe it will make you a better team. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. What I think we are talking more about here is cases where the player would see action in special cases or in garbage time. Those cases don't affect how good a team you are ATM, but could affect how good a team you have the future (where the "future" is defined as any time from next week to the end of the players eligibility). In those cases, there may be some tradeoffs, and those tradeoffs CAN be difficult, given the number of variables involved. Some guys clearly aren't ready, either physically, mentally, or both. Some guys are almost ready, but you don't really "need" them. They may benefit from the experience gained in garbage time, but will the benefit be large enough to lose a year of eligibility? Will it help player motivation? It certainly will allow the coaching staff to see how the player performs in "live" situations. One might argue that these are corner cases, but these cases are the hard ones.
[/quote]

Would you really burn a redshirt just to have a freshman play in garbage time?  There are a lot of implied assumptions in your argument that may or may not be true.

• Playing in garbage time will improve a player
  
• The experience from playing in garbage time would be more beneficial to a player who would otherwise redshirt than to a back-up who may be pressed into service
  
• That you can accurately identify the players that fit these corner cases
  

Again, I think the best criteria is the simplest... do they help you win today because they are better than the upperclassmen who would otherwise play if the player didn't redshirt.

BC

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=17193.msg197549#msg197549 date=1503423509]
This isn't that friggin difficult.

If a player will help you win, you play them.  If they aren't good enough to crack the two-deep, you don't.

You don't play them because they might not be around for their fourth or fifth year.
You don't play them because playing them today because it will give them experience.
You don't play them because of potential.
You sure as hell don't play them on the basis of their recruiting rankings.

Conversely, you don't redshirt them because you want to preserve a fifth year that may never come.

It's simple... does playing the freshman make you a better team?  Sometimes it's hard to judge, but that is the standard, and should be the only standard.

BC

I agree that you should, in fact must, play a freshman if you believe it will make you a better team. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. What I think we are talking more about here is cases where the player would see action in special cases or in garbage time. Those cases don't affect how good a team you are ATM, but could affect how good a team you have the future (where the "future" is defined as any time from next week to the end of the players eligibility). In those cases, there may be some tradeoffs, and those tradeoffs CAN be difficult, given the number of variables involved. Some guys clearly aren't ready, either physically, mentally, or both. Some guys are almost ready, but you don't really "need" them. They may benefit from the experience gained in garbage time, but will the benefit be large enough to lose a year of eligibility? Will it help player motivation? It certainly will allow the coaching staff to see how the player performs in "live" situations. One might argue that these are corner cases, but these cases are the hard ones.
[/quote]

Would you really burn a redshirt just to have a freshman play in garbage time?  There are a lot of implied assumptions in your argument that may or may not be true.

• Playing in garbage time will improve a player
  
• The experience from playing in garbage time would be more beneficial to a player who would otherwise redshirt than to a back-up who may be pressed into service
  
• That you can accurately identify the players that fit these corner cases
  

Again, I think the best criteria is the simplest... do they help you win today because they are better than the upperclassmen who would otherwise play if the player didn't redshirt.

BC