I just got 5 freshman than can be solid players. I have two sophomores that I want to play with the freshmen as seniors. I did not get the big men I was looking for. I have pretty much decided to redshirt both of my sophomores, it would seem obvious to redshirt the best one first, right? Cause the other one will have to be redshirted as a junior, so he will get upset. I have a question. Can I play them in exhibition games? And then redshirt the one after a little growth. Any Ideas or comments would be appreciated.

Yes you can but you will only get 1-2 points of growth in exhibitions

If they are upset, bench them all season then redshirt at end of the year

So there's lots to touch on here, but I just want to say that I think you've got to decide which one has the most potential in core (and, to a certain degree, the not core but would be nice to have category) ratings. Whoever that is- well they should be attempted to redshirt first. Here's my quick breakdown:

Try to redshirt MP (most potential):
If he takes with no WE penalty, great, and then redshirt LP (less potential) for junior year where he is ideal already maxed out in cores.
If he has WE penalty, then the decision gets tricky, if after the penalty is applied, the player's WE is above 40 then I'd leave it. Otherwise, I'd probably switch it around.

The main takeaway is that ratings will not go down with that junior year red-shirt but it will (likely) stunt all future growth. And you can play them in exhibition games however I believe there is no benefit to growth from exhibition games.