The NCAA recently passed a new rule that made it possible for players to actually appear in games and still earn a redshirt. The new rule states that players can appear in up to four games at any point in the season and still earn a redshirt for that season. So as long as they appear in four or fewer games during the year, any player can still earn a redshirt as long as they haven’t gotten one previously.
This dramatically changes how coaches view their rosters and how players view their “redshirt years.” And it should provide more entertainment for fans hoping to see highly-rated prospects who are either buried behind veteran players on the depth chart or who have a lot of skill and talent but aren’t quite ready to be thrust into a more prominent role because they aren’t quite physically or mentally developed enough yet.
Throughout Tennessee’s history, there are a number of players who could’ve benefited from this rule. Recently, someone like Josh Dobbs in his freshman season could’ve benefited from this rule, or any number of freshmen or sophomores who had to come in for a game or two for injured players for the Vols the last two seasons could’ve used this rule.
Now that it’s in effect, it’s time to take a look at some of the Vols who could be benefactors of the new rule in 2018. These 10 Vols are the most likely candidates to take advantage of the NCAA’s new redshirt rule.
All rankings via the 247Sports Composite rankings
