So why don't people call him a sophomore?

 

Because he is a redshirt freshman. 

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Because he is a redshirt freshman. 

 

How can he be a redshirt freshman if this is his second year on the team?

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How can he be a redshirt freshman if this is his second year on the team?

 

It's his first year being able to play in games. Athletically he's a freshman and has 3 years of eligibility left after this season. 

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In academics he is a sophomore.  Athletically he is a redshirt freshman.  It is extremely common in college football.  Andrew Luck was a redshirt junior when he came out.  

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It's his first year being able to play in games. Athletically he's a freshman and has 3 years of eligibility left after this season. 

 

Why couldn't he play in games last year?

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How can he be a redshirt freshman if this is his second year on the team?

 

Oh my god...

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Why couldn't he play in games last year?

 

Because he was redshirted. 

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Because he was redshirted. 

 

Exactly my point: That would make him a redshirt freshman last year.

 

I personally think players should be called what they are academically whether they redshirt or not to avoid confusion.

 

Now let's get back to Teddy Bridgewater.

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So why don't people call him a sophomore?

Because he's only a sophomore in academic year. In term of athletic year, he's a red shirt-freshman, meaning this is his first year being active on the team. (People use the terms "redshirt" and "true" to differentiate whether that student athletes redshirted or not. For example, Jameis Winston is a "redshirt" freshman because he wasn't active on the FSU roster last year. Teddy Bridgewater is a "true" junior because he chose to be an active member of the Louisville football team in his academic freshman year.


Basically, an incomming student athlete has the option to "red-shirt" their very first year in college. They are allowed to practice, learn the playbook and participate in team meeting and activities. However, they are not active on the roster during the football season. Student athletes who choose to redshirt are still entitled to four years of eligibility of college football, meaning that they are eligible to play an additional year after their "academic" senior year (forth year at the university). Basically, a redshirt senior is a student who is currently in his 5th academic year at the university.

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Exactly my point: That would make him a redshirt freshman last year.

 

 

No.

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Exactly my point: That would make him a redshirt freshman last year.

 

I personally think players should be called what they are academically whether they redshirt or not to avoid confusion.

 

Now let's get back to Teddy Bridgewater.

 

No it wouldn't.  That is just how College football is. 

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No it wouldn't.  That is just how college football is. 

 

Then college football likes to confuse people. If you say, "I played football last year," you are a former football player. So "I redshirted last year," must mean you are a former redshirt. Now can you see what I am getting at?

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The bottom line is that Jameis Winston is eligible for the 2015 draft. Good grief.

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On Wisconsin.

The bottom line is that Jameis Winston is eligible for the 2015 draft. Good grief.

 

Everyone is saying he will be the #1 pick that year, so does it really matter? That means we have no shot at him.

 

But if we were guaranteed to get the top pick and had to choose between Bridgewater and Winston, who would you pick?

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Then college football likes to confuse people. If you say, "I played football last year," you are a former football player. So "I redshirted last year," must mean you are a former redshirt. Now can you see what I am getting at?

It's fairly straight forward. Last year he was a true freshman, but was ineligible to play because of his red shirt status. This year he is a red shirt freshman, because it is his first year of NCAA eligibility. Were he not red shirted he would be a true sophomore this year. This allows you to extend the NCAA eligibility of athletes.

 

True Freshman - academic year 1           Red Shirt Freshman - academic year 2

True Sophomore - academic year 2         Red Shirt Sophomore - academic year 3

True Junior - academic year 3                  Red Shirt Junior - academic year 4

True Senior - academic year 4                 Red Shirt Senior - academic year 5


It's a "stash a jar on the shelf" sort of situation. 


The classification of red shirt informs that the player was red shirted at some point during his academic tenure. Since an athlete only has 4 years on NCAA eligibility, it is beneficial to stash a guy on the red shirt list for a year if you already have a junior/senior at his position and won't need him until the following year anyway. You don't have to be a freshman to be red shirted.

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The bottom line is that Jameis Winston is eligible for the 2015 draft. Good grief.

 

slow golf clap :thumbsup: 

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Exactly my point: That would make him a redshirt freshman last year.

 

Last year he was nothing. A freshman in classes, true, but nothing on the field, as he could not play.


If you called players (even redshirts) by their academic status, what would you call the 5th year/redshirt seniors? (who are only 5th year because they red shirted for a year)

 

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It's fairly straight forward. Last year he was a true freshman, but was ineligible to play because of his red shirt status. This year he is a red shirt freshman, because it is his first year of NCAA eligibility. Were he not red shirted he would be a true sophomore this year. This allows you to extend the NCAA eligibility of athletes.

 

True Freshman - academic year 1           Red Shirt Freshman - academic year 2

True Sophomore - academic year 2         Red Shirt Sophomore - academic year 3

True Junior - academic year 3                  Red Shirt Junior - academic year 4

True Senior - academic year 4                 Red Shirt Senior - academic year 5


It's a "stash a jar on the shelf" sort of situation. 

 

What it is may be fairly straightfoward, but why it is that way definitely is not. That is what I don't understand. Why do that instead of just call him what he is, a sophomore, so everyone knows it is his second year since he graduated from high school? I don't care if he redshirted. I only care about how many years he has been in school.

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What it is may be fairly straightfoward, but why it is that way definitely is not. That is what I don't understand. Why do that instead of just call him what he is, a sophomore, so everyone knows it is his second year since he graduated from high school? I don't care if he redshirted. I only care about how many years he has been in school.

How many years he has been in school means nothing compared to how many year of eligibility he has left. Especially when dealing with athletes. The amount of years you have been in school does not directly translate to what your classification is. For example, I know many a slacker who is in their 2nd or 3rd year on campus, but is still classified as a freshman. It's all about how many credits you have/are taking.


As i said above, what would you classify a player who has redshirted, is in his last year of NCAA eligibility, and is in his 5th year on campus?

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What it is may be fairly straightfoward, but why it is that way definitely is not. That is what I don't understand. Why do that instead of just call him what he is, a sophomore, so everyone knows it is his second year since he graduated from high school? I don't care if he redshirted. I only care about how many years he has been in school.

 

Why do you care how many years he's been in school?  If he redshirted or not is pretty important.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke.