With Four Games Left, Which Freshmen Could OSU Utilize Under the Redshirt Rule?

Freshmen often don’t play in a college football season because 1. They aren’t ready at the beginning of a season and 2. It’s not worth it to burn their redshirts by the end of the season when they have developed more physically, mentally and otherwise.

The NCAA’s new redshirt rule has flipped the script on that and will now allow freshmen (or anyone) to play in up to four games while maintaining their redshirt status. That is, CJ Moore can play in each of OSU’s final four games and still be a redshirt freshman in 2019.

With that in mind, Marshall Scott and Kyle Porter traded thoughts and ideas about how this is going to play out, who they’d like to see get a little playing time and what Mike Gundy’s general position will be when it comes to this rule.

Porter: Do you think Mike Gundy will play any freshmen he otherwise wouldn’t have played over the final four games because of the new redshirt rule?

Marshall: My gut says yes, but with Gundy, you really never know what’s going on up there.

Porter: It would make sense that we would see at least a few youngsters, but I always go back to what your goals are. I think — for multiple reasons — Gundy doesn’t care as much about the future as maybe other coaches and that this is generally a good thing. So I think we might see two or three freshmen (which is “more,” I guess) but not as many as we might see at a place like Kansas or Baylor.

Marshall: I’m not sure if we can really fault how Gundy has or hasn’t used this new redshirt rule because it is the rule’s first year, and no one knows the best way to use it, but in hindsight, you probably would’ve liked to see more young guys get reps against Missouri State and South Alabama because it turned out there weren’t any free wins left.

Porter: True. I liked that he played guys like the Williams bros. (Kanion and Tyrese) but wish he would have done that a little more with the CJ Moores and Spencer Sanders (although I understand why he didn’t with Sanders).

Who are your top three in terms of freshmen you’d like to see get a little playing time going into 2019?

Marshall: I would definitely like to see C.J. Moore. He arrived late, and he was really thin, so I’m not sure playing him in those openers would have been the most healthy thing for him. Now that he’s had a few months with Glass, he’s looking bulkier.

Next I would say Spencer Sanders. Against Texas, Taylor Cornelius put the benching shouts to rest, but regardless, Sanders is the future of the program, so seeing him even in short bursts would be exciting.

Third, I’ll go with Sean Michael Flanagan. Reason one, what a name. There are a lot of freshman secondary members to choose from, but Jim Knowles’ system calls for a lot safeties. Flanagan has played once this season, I believe, giving him three more possible games.

Porter: That’s a good list. I’ll go with these three.

1. Sanders — Duh.

2. JayVeon Cardwell — At some point OSU has to mix things up at cornerback and just give its two starters a break. It seems like Cardwell could be that kind of guy next year, and it would nice to see him wade into the baptismal waters against TCU and in a bowl game.

3. Jonathan Shepherd — I know it’s a little different, but the only freshman WR that played last year was Tylan. Before that it was Stoner. This year the only freshman WR that’s played (against Mizzou St.) was Shepherd. That might be a throwaway, but it feels like at least a hint that he could end up being the best of a pretty good crop of young WRs. Sanders is going to have an embarrassing number of weapons in 2019.

Marshall: That’s a solid list. With OSU still needing a win to get into a bowl game, it would be interesting to know the coaching staff’s thought process on when/if they would want to stroll out some younger guys. You’d expect in the bowl game because that’s usually when they let it all hang out, but I could see where it would be hard justifying putting in inexperienced guys when you still want to win games.

Porter: It’s true. They’re kind of in a weird purgatorial place where it doesn’t make sense to go full 2019, but it also doesn’t make sense to not get guys at least a little run at the end of the year when, for some of these guys, they’ve already been in the program for 10-11 months.

Last one, ultimately do you think we’ve learned that the redshirt rule helps or hurts Oklahoma State win more football games?

Marshall: I think projecting forward it helps. Gundy has harped and harped that experience is a big deal and in that aspect, he is right. I don’t see where giving a guy four possible games and still redshirting him would be bad for the future. In the short-term though, I can see where maybe waiting to pick your spots and throwing guys in could take away from the current season’s task. It’s like playing two chess games at once. Overall though I think it’ll be a net positive.

Porter: It really is tough. I think the bigger benefit comes at schools that get more college-ready kids. So Ohio State can actually test their true freshmen in the first two or three games and see if they’re ready to roll for the season. If not, no big deal. Most of Oklahoma State’s won’t be ready that early because they aren’t as developed so they would be more inclined to play on the back end. The whole thing will be tricky to navigate no matter what school you coach but good for players (I think) and mildly beneficial for Oklahoma State (though maybe not as much as I first thought).

Do you think more players will do what Jalen McCleskey did in the future?

Marshall: Undoubtedly. I’m not sure how much thought went into that when the rule was conceived, but especially if you’re battling with a guy for a position, and you don’t win. I could see a lot of guys going elsewhere where they can play. I think McCleskey’s case specifically was a little odd because he was playing, but I think there will be plenty of instances of what Kelly Bryant did with Clemson.

Porter: I guess I was talking more about playing a few games (starting a few games!) before ejecting, which I don’t think will happen much. I think it actually takes a ton of willpower and self-control to remove yourself from the current situation you’re in while you’re in the middle of it. It seems like it would have been much easier for him to play out the string than to pull back and go elsewhere in 2019.

Marshall: Yeah, he sure was able to look at it from a big picture standpoint and do what he felt was best for himself. Yeah, I don’t think there will be many cases quite like McCleskey’s.

For a full list of who has already participated (through the KSU game), click here.