I have never really looked at low WE players in D2 & D3 so I'm not 100 percent sure of the game mechanics here...

Without trying to get uber-specific...I have a possible recruit that I'm eyeing with a really low WE (high single-digit) who already possesses starting values that I like for my division. His core categories are all yellows and reds with one exception, so I think there will be very little non-Sim interest in him from his projected division...basically, I'm thinking I can steal a player with senior-level ratings and have him for 4 years.

BUT...I know that ultra-low WE players lose points in the off-season. It's generally why I won't touch them. My question is does the remaining potential have any correlation to the category/categories those off-season losses occur in or to the magnitude of point loss that occurs? For instance, if the player is red in LP are they less likely to lose off-season points in that category than if it was blue? Will they lose more points in the offseason if it is blue vs. red in the same way that you lose points faster zeroing out practice minutes in a category that still has growth vs. a category that is near its cap in red? I rarely dabble in low-WE players, so I'm unsure if attribute development principles apply in the off-season or if it comes from a wholly different set of formulas.

I wouldn't mind taking the kid as a steal if I know his cores would fall, at most a point in the off-season. If there's a chance I could eat a 3+ point drop in a core category that would be hard to gain back, then obviously he's not worth it and I'll look elsewhere.

Other than STAMINA you are probably pretty safe. If his WE is about 9, you should expect a drop of a point or two in 3-5 categories each off season. If you can sneak some starts in and get it up to 12-15 that helps alot.

I haven't noticed a correlation between potential growth and off season drop off but I really wasn't looking either. If his WE is 8 or 9 you should be able to get all the lost off season growth back each season.

I agree with TJ. If he's low in ST and you are doing FB/Press then it can be bothersome since he will lose all the ST you gain. Other ratings... meh, not nearly as much. Also, since he already has great starting ratings, why not start him?

Here's a guy who started with 5 that you can use as a mini case study.

one gambit would be to red shirt him to help with the IQ problem

I would NOT inform of redshirt - could turn him off - but low WE guys have a hard time growing IQ. A RS season to jump start IQ and then lots of minutes will boost the WE.....

Posted by Benis on 1/3/2018 7:13:00 PM (view original):
I agree with TJ. If he's low in ST and you are doing FB/Press then it can be bothersome since he will lose all the ST you gain. Other ratings... meh, not nearly as much. Also, since he already has great starting ratings, why not start him?

Here's a guy who started with 5 that you can use as a mini case study.

Great mini case study Benis - thank you for providing it. And, yes, the plan probably would be to start him for the majority/all of his freshman year (possibly moving him to primary reserve in lieu of more IQ in the starting lineup in key conference games and maybe the post season) before expecting him to full-time it as starter as a Soph-Sr.

I would say 5-7 with 4 years of starting or 8-10 in general is completely doable.

Posted by cubcub113 on 1/4/2018 7:59:00 AM (view original):
I would say 5-7 with 4 years of starting or 8-10 in general is completely doable.

5-7 what?

If he's gonna start most if not all of his career, his IQ will go something like this

8->11
11->14
14->19
19->25

There are some thresholds in WE that are important to hit. As a rule of thumb, if you start at 5 you will get to 10, if you start at 10 you will get to 25 if you start at 20 you can get the 45.

"There are some thresholds in WE that are important to hit. As a rule of thumb, if you start at 5 you will get to 10, if you start at 10 you will get to 25 if you start at 20 you can get the 45."

You talkin total WE increase over a 4 season career starting every game?

yup

The guy I shared in the link went from 5 to 18 WE. You sure about the 5 to 10? I don't have any other examples handy.

My bad, I didn't realize 5 WE grew 2 each season. I thought that started at 7.

For guys with single digit WE a season of starting will turn your WE into

1-> 1 (no change)
2->3
3->4
4-> 5 or 6
5->7
6->8
7->10
8->11
9->12
10->13