I'm thinking of starting to redshirt a freshman every year to always have a 5th year senior.  I have never redshirted.  Can anybody give me some tips?!

Or am I in the wrong here, I am also thinking about having three players in every class with no redshirts... Is this a better option?  Thanks!!

The lowest rated incoming freshman will almost always accept a RS without any drop in WE. From there it depends on a number of factors as to whether they will accept and the drop in WE. It just depends on how much of a WE hit they will take and how much your willing to take. You can try a player once and if the WE hit is too severe just reinstate him. Occassionally you may get a sophomore to accept with an acceptable WE hit.

You can have balanced 3 man classes by RS a player every year.

Posted by coachcali on 6/8/2014 1:00:00 PM (view original):
The lowest rated incoming freshman will almost always accept a RS without any drop in WE. From there it depends on a number of factors as to whether they will accept and the drop in WE. It just depends on how much of a WE hit they will take and how much your willing to take. You can try a player once and if the WE hit is too severe just reinstate him. Occassionally you may get a sophomore to accept with an acceptable WE hit.

You can have balanced 3 man classes by RS a player every year.

How though?  Because if I have 3-3-3-3 and RS a player... the next year I will have 3-3-2-4 until it cycles around again...

No you can't have a balanced class if you redshirt every year. But a 3-3-3-3 isn't really all that crucial. If you go 3-3-2-4 it's fine. It might leave you with any extra spot in your junior class every few seasons which can easily be filled by a top quality juco to keep the classes mostly balanced.

I also don't think red shirting every year is always wise. Sometimes there is no obvious redshirt option and if you run the press or run uptempo, playing 12 guys is possible. If you run only 8 to 10 players, then yes I think it's better to redshirt a freshman versus having them not play at all. I love the redshirt option. I wish we could redshirt more than one player at a time but I think you have to evaluate each roster individually to decide if it makes sense for that particular team.

With the way potential works now, Red Shirting is better for guys with Low WE.

I say that because "most" players with 50 or more in WE will reach almost all their Maximum levels before their 5th season ... so they do not really grow any more with a Red Shirt.  They do play with better attributes (since they had growth while Red Shirting), so it is somewhat beneficial for anyone ... but it can be very beneficial for someone who will not max out because of a low WE.

I used to do it religiously and now I do it with Man teams but usually not press teams.

Posted by jaymc2007 on 6/8/2014 1:11:00 PM (view original):

Posted by coachcali on 6/8/2014 1:00:00 PM (view original):
The lowest rated incoming freshman will almost always accept a RS without any drop in WE. From there it depends on a number of factors as to whether they will accept and the drop in WE. It just depends on how much of a WE hit they will take and how much your willing to take. You can try a player once and if the WE hit is too severe just reinstate him. Occassionally you may get a sophomore to accept with an acceptable WE hit.

You can have balanced 3 man classes by RS a player every year.

How though?  Because if I have 3-3-3-3 and RS a player... the next year I will have 3-3-2-4 until it cycles around again...

The key is R/S every season.  So when you bring in 4 guys and R/S 1, you now have 3 guys in a class.  And that R/S adds to the 2-man class, giving it 3 players.  It works.

My thought is whenever possible, R/S the best incoming freshman you have.  You don't get much out of freshman anyways, so might as well get them a little more early development and IQ  growth.  This way, they have a shot to max out early junior year and you're essentially getting 2 years out of a stud.  Without the R/S, you're only getting 1 season out of a guy that's maxed.  

Posted by hughesjr on 6/8/2014 4:18:00 PM (view original):
With the way potential works now, Red Shirting is better for guys with Low WE.

I say that because "most" players with 50 or more in WE will reach almost all their Maximum levels before their 5th season ... so they do not really grow any more with a Red Shirt.  They do play with better attributes (since they had growth while Red Shirting), so it is somewhat beneficial for anyone ... but it can be very beneficial for someone who will not max out because of a low WE.

I used to do it religiously and now I do it with Man teams but usually not press teams.

I actually think the opposite. If they have a low WE, Why redshirt them at all? They won't achieve their potential no matter what. Better to use it on players with high WE so they really get something out of the redshirt year.

Posted by kbc167 on 6/9/2014 1:53:00 AM (view original):

Posted by hughesjr on 6/8/2014 4:18:00 PM (view original):
With the way potential works now, Red Shirting is better for guys with Low WE.

I say that because "most" players with 50 or more in WE will reach almost all their Maximum levels before their 5th season ... so they do not really grow any more with a Red Shirt.  They do play with better attributes (since they had growth while Red Shirting), so it is somewhat beneficial for anyone ... but it can be very beneficial for someone who will not max out because of a low WE.

I used to do it religiously and now I do it with Man teams but usually not press teams.

I actually think the opposite. If they have a low WE, Why redshirt them at all? They won't achieve their potential no matter what. Better to use it on players with high WE so they really get something out of the redshirt year.

To get their iq up to par to get the most of the ratings they have.

If you plan to have a 3 to 4 man class each year, the odd man out is only going to get a couple of minutes a game.  That is a waste of a season.  Use the redshirt, and try to use it every season if you can.  The following season you have a more seasoned player who can run your sets, and you have him for 4 solid seasons.  Just makes sense.