[BostonCard]

Is he injured?  Otherwise, why not get him into <5 games so as to get him some game experience, see how he does in game situations, etc.

This might be one of those cases where the coaches view the situation differently than the standard fan-take. 
Depending upon just what stage of development a player is in, and what they are working on, actual game time may or may not be the most important thing to spur development. I could at least imagine that Miezan needs to work on some fundamental issues and the coaches fear that the pressure of playing in games will cause him to revert to instincts, old habits, etc. 

Or simply that the coaches feel the four games are better spent when he is a few steps further down the development curve. 

I don't know, but it isn't so simple as he should be playing if not injured.

That's fair, but it means that it is less likely that he will be a solution next year, which is all I was trying to get at.  Solomon Thomas is a great example of someone who redshirted as a freshman and started as a sophomore.  And there are examples of guys burning their freshman redshirt who later disappoint (Casey Tucker might be one such example; Curtis Robinson may be another).  But generally speaking playing as a freshman, even if it is in select situations such as on special teams or in the jumbo package, is a positive predictive sign for later contribution.

BC

[BostonCard]

Is he injured?  Otherwise, why not get him into <5 games so as to get him some game experience, see how he does in game situations, etc.

This might be one of those cases where the coaches view the situation differently than the standard fan-take. 
Depending upon just what stage of development a player is in, and what they are working on, actual game time may or may not be the most important thing to spur development. I could at least imagine that Miezan needs to work on some fundamental issues and the coaches fear that the pressure of playing in games will cause him to revert to instincts, old habits, etc. 

Or simply that the coaches feel the four games are better spent when he is a few steps further down the development curve. 

I don't know, but it isn't so simple as he should be playing if not injured.

That's fair, but it means that it is less likely that he will be a solution next year, which is all I was trying to get at.  Solomon Thomas is a great example of someone who redshirted as a freshman and started as a sophomore.  And there are examples of guys burning their freshman redshirt who later disappoint (Casey Tucker might be one such example; Curtis Robinson may be another).  But generally speaking playing as a freshman, even if it is in select situations such as on special teams or in the jumbo package, is a positive predictive sign for later contribution.

BC