Handling Redshirt Players

Any more questions if Jim is the right person?

"Throughout the Brady Hoke era at Michigan, fans and pundits were incensed by the coaching staff’s apparent unawareness (or disregard) of simple redshirt protocol. Freshmen would often be deployed for little to no reason in a game or two during the course of a given season, “burning” through an extra year of potential eligibility with little upside.

The arrival of Jim Harbaugh changed all of that, and the first-year coach was open about his desire to redshirt backup quarterback Shane Morris given the lack of upside associated with letting him play in limited duty. With that as the backdrop, Harbaugh has only deployed two freshmen — wide receivers Brian Cole and Grant Perry — this season, and that seems intentional.

That changed against Maryland.

While it isn’t a wholesale change in policy, Harbaugh elected to insert freshman defensive back Tyree Kinnel into action against the Terps, and he was asked about that choice following the game.

Here was his rationale, via Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com:  “He’s been extremely physical (in practice), we have a scrimmage every week with some younger players and he stood out every single week, so we felt like we needed to get him out on the field to help his development as a football player and to help our football team. We saw some issues where Jehu Chesson was playing so much on his task list, with special teams, receiver (etc). We wanted someone else to carry some of that water.  Thought Tyree Kinnel would be a good candidate (for that).

This seems simple enough, especially with Harbaugh’s follow-up comments that basically assert that Michigan has emptied the cupboard in terms of freshmen who are ready to play:  “We truly believe now that there are no more freshmen, we’ve gone through a month of training camp and four games, a third of the season, no one’s a freshman anymore. Now’s the time. If they show they can contribute as a freshman, then now’s the time to do it.”

It is certainly an interesting choice by Harbaugh to use a player that is almost certainly pegged as a special teams-only asset, but it could also be an indication that Kinnel’s upside may be limited on defense. This is a situation to monitor moving forward, but for now, we can assume that Jehu Chesson will see less in the way of double duty, and Tyree Kinnel will be used early and often in his new role."

Go Blue!!  

GOBLUEJOE66 wrote:

This seems simple enough, especially with Harbaugh’s follow-up comments that basically assert that Michigan has emptied the cupboard in terms of freshmen who are ready to play:  “We truly believe now that there are no more freshmen, we’ve gone through a month of training camp and four games, a third of the season, no one’s a freshman anymore. Now’s the time. If they show they can contribute as a freshman, then now’s the time to do it.”

I don't think that means the cupboard is bare, I think it means he doesn't consider them freshman anymore, and if they want to play, now is the time to show it.

fishgoblue22 wrote:

GOBLUEJOE66 wrote:

This seems simple enough, especially with Harbaugh’s follow-up comments that basically assert that Michigan has emptied the cupboard in terms of freshmen who are ready to play:  “We truly believe now that there are no more freshmen, we’ve gone through a month of training camp and four games, a third of the season, no one’s a freshman anymore. Now’s the time. If they show they can contribute as a freshman, then now’s the time to do it.”

I don't think that means the cupboard is bare, I think it means he doesn't consider them freshman anymore, and if they want to play, now is the time to show it.

That is the way I read it as well fish!

Go Blue!!