re: Redshirt vs Non Redshirt player

You're right. It's a great thing LSU redshirted Michael Brockers a few years ago! You know with him leaving as a redshirt soph and all.

If a freshman is ready to play, you play them. Period. However, some players just don't get much better in their college careers. So they look great as a freshman, but never improve. Flip side is, some true sophomores improve a ton from their freshman year due to the limited, but sometimes very valuable PT they receive.

There's always exceptions, but you can't play the "what if" game when it comes to shirting players.