Freshmen Participation Tracker after 5 games

I've seen him on the kicking unit early on so I assume he was still out there against Iowa.

I imagine we will see him this week against Indiana and he will regain the 3rd running back spot but it will be a diminished role in comparison to RB3 the last few years.

No need to play RB3 against the #1 defense in the nation, especially at their barn.  He probably spent a few days working his way out of the doghouse after a game fumble, too.  Hopefully, he's out and back in good standing.  But fumbling is bad, mmmkay...

We can't roll with just two RBs all season, and although our deep bench had some moments against the tomato cans of the schedule, we're not going to be running Isaiah Gash against OSU.

In addition, a part of redshirt decisions in today's college football is politics. CJ isn't from Michigan, and if Harbaugh banishes him from the field, he might just decide to head home. Even if he made some mistakes this year, we need him to continue to progress and see the field in the near future.

Graham, Moore, Rolder, Johnson, Loveland and Clemons are all "rotation" guys. With Moore and Graham seeing significant time. Through five games as true freshman, I wouldn't say six contributors is all that bad.

Edit:  Stokes until "the fumble" would be on this list too. And honestly, he probably should be even after. I bet he's given another shot or two down the line. The dog house isn't a forever prison. Also Pollard.

Isn't that a good thing? Will Johnson will be better by the end of the year. 

If there is one impact freshman, I would say we are lucky and Graham has been not only serviceable but turning into a gold star before our eyes. We haven’t even had to see how good W. Johnson is going to be because of the stellar play of our DBs and the emergence of Sainristill. I think this freshman class is going to be just fine and there will be multiple stars leading into next season. 

I will be surprised if Stokes doesn't play. They need someone else. Gash may be the answer but Stokes is a different talent. 

Grant, Moore, Graham, Clemmons and Loveland because the staff thinks they are too talented to keep off the field all year.

I think Stokes will lose his redshirt this week against Indiana.

I think Rolder and Pollard, while talented, are a result of our desperate need for LB depth.

A little surprised Dent has not seen any time.

or they just want them ready to potentially step into big roles next year.  

the LBs arent even close to ready but theyre light at that spot and need guys ramping up

We need to have a viable 3rd RB.RBs take the most hits and CJ Stokes has looked good for the most part. As for the mental aspect, I don't think the staff wants his last carry of the year to be a fumble.

I don't think redshirts are as big of a deal as they used to be.  Players are leaving for the NFL as soon as they get even a sniff of positivity regarding their draft chances, especially if they were 4 stars or higher coming out of high school.  Plus the transfer portal is a bigger deal than it ever was and guys need playing time to stick around.  Other than Micah Pollard I have no gripes with any of the freshman who have already burned their redshirts.  I haven't read Seth's defensive UFR the last couple weeks so I don't know how much he's contributing.

As much as I'd love to redshirt Stokes since he's not a great NFL talent, he brings size and decent speed to the running back room and is a wonderful 3rd option.

I think Loveland, Clemons, and Grant are "too good" to keep of the field and the LB have to be bloodied now because of our shaky depth. Loveland is probably the most surprising unless you consider the insane hype he got all offseason.

• Loveland may have been determined once All got hurt.  They may have tried to keep him at 4 games but now with their love of TEs he's the 4th guy and thus is playing (and looking solid).  
• Rolder is because NHG is still hurt and we are so thin at LB. They also put LB on special teams a lot, which is likely why Pollard is burned.  That one surprises me more because he seems further away from actual rotation snaps.  But beggars can't be choosers right now at this spot.  
• Grant has been good enough to keep playing - though I thought they might try to keep his shirt since they suddenly have enough competent DTs that can rotate (Smith, Jenkins, Graham, Rooks, Benny, Goode).  But three of those guys are probably gone after this year and Grant is probably not a 5-year player anyway.  
• Clemons surprises me.  I figured they'd keep him at 4 but see how the season goes.  
• Stokes is probably going to get his 5th game one of these coming weeks once he's out of the dog house just because he seems like our 3rd best RB.  
• Walker feels like the one guy with 4 that they would like to keep there.  He's really far down the depth chart, skinny, and likely not needed.  Give Morris his 4th game as your deep bench WR, play Dixon and Dennis if you want, save both these guys.

He is a blessing in disguise. The young man is such a great talent.

Most DL take a year or two to develop.  He will be killing it by the end of the year.