I seem to recall reading somewhere in the forum that you could promise a start/minutes to a senior (1-year of eligibility) without any intention of playing him.
The logic, as I recall, was that breaking the promise actually had no negative repercussions outside of an in-season WE drop - it was only when a student-athlete transferred that your reputation was affected or other players might get upset. With someone with only a single year of eligibility, he will end up graduating before he transfers.
Can anyone confirm this? Is that still the way it works after whatever the most recent updates are?