Nebraska football: New NCAA rules will change the college football landscape

It’s likely that the Nebraska football coaching staff has been looking at the redshirt rule that was announced today for a while now. The change has been getting some serious press since it was first dreamt up because of the effect it could have on the college football world.

In a nutshell, the NCAA has now said players can appear in as many as four games in a season without losing a year of eligibility. That means the redshirt has gone from a red badge of bench riding to a kind of “open tryout” situation.

No longer does being told a coach wants to redshirt a player mean he’s going to sit out the entire year. Perhaps a school (cough the Cornhuskers, cough) have a redshirt quarterback they aren’t quite sure is ready for prime time.

Maybe as the season goes along they decide he’s getting the offense better and showing what they didn’t see at the beginning of the season. Now they can insert him into the final four games and get him big experience, and still know he’s coming back next year as a freshman.

There’s also the chance that you have someone who started off the year gangbusters but he’s having problems acclimating to tougher defenses. As long as he sits from game five of the year on, he gets to keep his year. That’s a big deal for a program like the Nebraska football team, that’s trying to find its footing under a new staff.