In the first five years of Mark Stoops’ tenure, when he brought in a new recruiting class, you could expect about half of the 25 signees to sit on the sideline for a year. A few JUCOs and four-stars would play right away, while the rest spent the year in the weight room and on scout team.
That’s all changing this year.
The new college football redshirt rule allows freshmen to play in up to four games without using a year of eligibility, completely changing the freshman dynamic. Stoops is deciding on the fly exactly how they’ll use the rule to their advantage.