Greetings, just started playing GD, and took over a rebuilding project. Does it help to play the younger guys early, even if higher rated upperclassmen? It seems after a few games that the young guys on bench are developing at same rate as young guys who get to play. Too early to see a difference? Does it matter at all?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Came back after a decade so basically a newbie but it seems guys who get playing time have Work Ethic increase which should eventually pay off.

All things being equal, FR will increase their category values at a faster rate than upperclassmen if they are afforded decent playing time. SOPH just a bit less, JRs even a bit less, and SRs the least. There are instances where this isn't always the case but as a general observation it happens in this way. Playing one or two exhibition games AFTER recruits sign is a good way to get those newbies a ton of playing time. Then manage your depth charts, substitution settings, game plans, and playbooks to get those rookies in the game as often as possible for as long as possible without detracting from your opportunity to win the game. Granted, this last part is not as easy to do at DIII due to the limited settings.

OK...thanks...so, it does matter, at least a little bit....appreciate your thoughts!

As Majique said, playing time early in their career not only increases their number by bigger increases than later in their career, but also their WE will increase which will help them grow faster.

Just following up on this thread after monitoring it over a season...Frosh who played a lot added 40-43 points to their values. Frosh who played a little were around 30-32. Frosh who didn't play much at all were 20-25 points higher at the end of the season. In games where I knew I'd get trounced I played as many freshmen as possible, this being Year 1 at a new D2 school, so my guess is these numbers are a point or two higher than a competitive team might expect.

TTATO Season 2 Episode 6 talks quite a bit about the advantage of exhibition games playing time for new signees.

Echoing Majique and Mojolad, I've found that it's important not only to schedule 2 exhibition games for after FR report, but to actually play them. Those 2 lousy games will give many of them a bump of 1 or 2 points in WE even if they don't play after that. For a long time I just played the games to get the practice time but used the games to tweak my starting lineup for the season. No more. Now in my exhibition games, I start all the FR and SO I can.

Also, if you're on a rebuild and have a couple of decent underclassmen with good potential, it's better long term to play them full time over upperclassmen. If you're not going to the playoffs anyway, might as well bank some experience and development for your youngsters.

D3 is all about recruiting and player development.

I would always recommend finding a way to get your FR in a game (especially against Sims) in order for them to get credit for a start. As others have said, players will grow the most as FR. There are many ways to do this in the advanced game, such as using a "backup formation" that gets in the game when you're up or down by a wide margin. For example, OL2 could be used in your formations for your FR/SO players who may not be good enough to start. You could use that formation in a playbook that you use in your gameplan when the game has been decided.