Redshirt vs. Starting

[reidz5]

I'm just curious if there is a difference between the development of someone who redshirts and someone who starts as a freshman.

For example, if you were to take two equal plays, one redshirted and one started as a freshman, which one would be better by their junior or senior year? I would assume the one who started as freshman since they have more experience? If Brad Kaaya were to have redshirted his freshman year, would he likely be better today than he is now?

Sometimes there are players who will most certainly go pro by their junior year so I wonder why coaches redshirt them. Jameis Winston for example, did he really need a shirt his freshman year? Why not just start him or have him as a backup?

 

[marshallrc13]

There's a big difference. If you start you get more reps with 1st team, you get more experience on the field, you get more comfortable. If you red-shirt you are practicing but not with 1st team and not nearly as many reps. Every player is different. Some come in physically and mentally ready to play while many aren't. The ones that suffer the most to me are the ones that aren't ready but are forced to play. In a perfect world you would never have to start a true freshman because you recruited and developed on point up to then but that's not always the case. IMO, each case and each team is different and you have to make your decisions based on depth, readiness, and needs.

 

[imurcane]

I redshirted my freshman year. You are all systems go for opposing side's first teammers. I played OL, so I practiced against our first team DL. I'm sure different places do it a
little differently. But you lift during th season harder than rest of team. Wasn't fun at the time bc you are going through the rigors of practice like everyone else with that add on!!

I think the sentiment is a shirt benefits people in different ways. Coker has said he wishes he would have used Gore in title game against Osu. I agree. Fat Albert on the other hand seemed to burn shirts a lot more frequently. I think he should have had more of a plan. He probably needed to recruit a few more juco kids, the right ones of course! And naturally his evals were so bad, the juco route may not have helped enough. He did have some numbers restraints. And so rather than playing a fresh that wasn't ready, dip into juco for a savage OL or DL!!

 

[Sooch]

There is a huge difference. Not everyone is ready to start as a freshman. Sometimes its the speed of the game, and sometimes its a new position or luck of the draw with strength or weakness at a certain posotion.
Shaq for example is ready to play right now. He has played in a similar defense and he is phsycially ready to go AND if you listen to him speak, the kid just gets it. All of that matters.
Gordinier is a perfect example of why you redshirt and what a different a year has made. Remember something....this kid come in last year off of Knee surgery and not being able to do as much of the heavy lifting with his legs or a ton of running leading into camp last summer. Then factor in that he literally just turned 19 this week, and it all just made sense to red shirt him. Now he is competing and should be a contributor on this team at possibly two positions.
Shirreffs - it is clutch that he never had to play last year when Kaaya went down. Now he is 20 lbs heavier.
It is always good with O-Lineman as well as they need to adjust to the massive size and speed on DI defenses.