Should I redshirt him?

[Molarmite]

I am in an online dynasty in year 3 as a 2 star prestige team but last offseason I managed to land the #1 recruit in the nation, a 81 OVR WR. My team is god awful right now and I promised him significant playing time in his first year so during his freshmen year he's doing quite well leading the team in catches, yards and TD. My first year of recruiting was good, my second one was even better getting some four stars. Now in the third year, I'm going to get about 10-15 4 stars.

I expect my team to be better next year but not yet compete for a conference championship. However, 2 years from now and for the couple years after, I see us being very competitive. My question is, would there be a downfall of redshirting my #1 WR in his sophmore year in what I know will be a year where we won't compete, so I can have him for the 3 years I plan on being very good.

My logic being he might move up 6 points next year to an 87 as a sophmore but then if he's redshirted, he could move up 6 more points and be a 93 as a sophmore then maybe a 98 as a junior.

[PowerofRed25]

I generally never redshirt skill positions unless I have overwhelming depth at the position. For example, I have 11 WR's on my roster at Hawai'i. I redshirted 4 of them because there is no way I could get them on the field.

I tend to only redshirt offensive and defensive line depth, since I usually recruit lower ranked offensive line recruits and try and build them up to be beasts in their Junior year. So a 3* T can come in at 68 and be in the 80's by the time I'm ready/need to play him.

In your case, you're stuck between building for the future and being decent now. Judging by the way you are starting to recruit now, I would not redshirt and I'd just play him. He'll improve more getting consistent playing time and if his skills help you win 1 or 2 games you wouldn't have before, that will only help recruiting down the line and by the time he is gone, you should be in a position to replace him from within or recruit another star freshman.

Once you start consistently bringing these guys in, you can get them on the field, knowing that within the 4 years of them playing, you will be able to recruit his replacement. I consistently promise 'No Redshirt' to recruits because I have no intention of shirting them. I bring them in to play. At Nebraska, I just shifted my offensive scheme to allow my 3 stud true freshmen at halfback to get on the field consistently.

[GGGswim]

Dunno. I RS at many positions, including skill POSs. I always, always have one DT and at least 2 OL RSs (top two DTs playing are in high 90s nearly every season, getting same result with OL RSs).
And with a guy already in the mid-80s, I'm not sure the difference, if any (as I've had RS guys gain more pts than non-RS players quite often), will be all that noticeable if you're playing for that.
In addition, I don't think you can count on him to not turn pro after a 93 Jr season. You could try to convince if he does try, but obviously no guarantee (graduated top CB, and #2 CB "always wanted to turn pro from day 1, coach", damn).

[StormJH1]

Interesting discussion. I agree with the 2nd post on strategy - I'm playing with Minnesota, and it's a nightmare. The cupboards were so bare (and shallow) when I started that they went from a B- team to a "C", and now I think we're a "C-". This is despite the fact that I've had a recruiting class in the Top 35 all 3 years I played (which is pretty incredible for a team that's been either 2 or 3 stars prestige).

But my point is that my team is EXTREMELY young, and I'm starting to see these 3* recruits who weren't even playable as freshman (mostly 62-68 OVR) now developing some solid skill by their SO(RS) year.

Last year, I played a true freshman QB, RB, and WR because all of them were 4* recruits and the returning options at those skill positions sucked. Even though their OVR was worse than many upperclassmen, they play significantly better in-game because OVR is affected heavily by awareness, carry rating and some other ratings that don't have as much of an impact on a human-controlled game.

But for the "meat-and-bones" positions (OL and DL), I dunno, but it seems like there aren't enough recruits to go around, and the 4* don't want to play for my awful team. So I'm loading on 3*s as much as possible and now that I have the depth to redshirt them, it's just simple math that the LT who comes in as a 68 will be a 78 or higher by the time he's a JR(RS) if he gains 3 or 4 points a year.

Also, if you really have an elite skill position guy, you might as well play him because like the guy above said, he can go pro as a 3rd year junior or a 3rd year redshirt sophomore, and he probably will if the OVR is in the 90's.

[TDenverFan]

I would, as long as you have 2 other WRs over 70 overall who can take his place (Somewhat)

[blkrptnt819]

Can you maintain your program prestige if you redshirt him? If you can then yes else no.

[BlackBetty15]

Quote: Originally Posted by Molarmite

I am in an online dynasty in year 3 as a 2 star prestige team but last offseason I managed to land the #1 recruit in the nation, a 81 OVR WR. My team is god awful right now and I promised him significant playing time in his first year so during his freshmen year he's doing quite well leading the team in catches, yards and TD. My first year of recruiting was good, my second one was even better getting some four stars. Now in the third year, I'm going to get about 10-15 4 stars. I expect my team to be better next year but not yet compete for a conference championship. However, 2 years from now and for the couple years after, I see us being very competitive. My question is, would there be a downfall of redshirting my #1 WR in his sophmore year in what I know will be a year where we won't compete, so I can have him for the 3 years I plan on being very good. My logic being he might move up 6 points next year to an 87 as a sophmore but then if he's redshirted, he could move up 6 more points and be a 93 as a sophmore then maybe a 98 as a junior.

Thats tough brother. I know I would want him to play jsut because he makes your team that much better than without. Him playing could help with recruits based on his performance and game outcomes.

[BlackBetty15]

Your the coach though man! Thats why you get paid all the mental dollars! LOL