re: Did they change the red shirt rule?

I am not really sure Red-Shirts really matter anymore. As LSU proved the freshman are coming in big enough and talented enough to start. If you have top tier Offense and Defensive coaches that can develop talent, why not play the best player on the team regardless of what year they are.

Of course that must be taken with a grain of salt for QBs, because statistics tell us generally older QBs do better than younger ones. I am sure there are several examples of freshman and sophomore QBs excelling, but generally they need a bit more time.

Any other position, let the best kid play, because chances are someone is coming in next year that could be as good or better.