Redshirts and Medical Redshirts
August 21st, 2013 at 12:37 PM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 10:37 AM ^
It's a fair question. No need to be a such an impudent embossed rascal.
August 21st, 2013 at 10:39 AM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 10:55 AM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 10:54 AM ^
An elective redshirt and a medical redshirt are different things. You get 5 years to play four, and can elect to take any year as your redshirt year. Darboh didn't play this season at all so he doesn't have to apply for a medical redshirt.
If you play even one play in any season, that whole season counts unless you get dispensation from the NCAA to not count it. Gardner and Countess applied for medical redshirts because they played in those seasons but lost most of the year to injury, a special case that the NCAA makes an exception for.
The exception is if a player electively took a redshirt year and then loses a season to injury, they can't apply for a medical redshirt; they just lose that season. This sounds unfair, e.g. Jake Ryan, but it makes sense when you consider the NCAA hands out medical redshirts even when it's obvious the team is just seeking an extra year of eligibility for a guy they ran out on special teams a few times--since they abuse the rule already they do this to prevent teams from reporting all of their redshirt freshmen who don't play as medical redshirts and getting everyone 6 years.
August 21st, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
When do we find out what freshman are redshirted this season?
August 21st, 2013 at 11:23 AM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 11:29 AM ^
As others have noted, you get one "free" redshirt, and while people usually apply it as a first-year, you can use it for injuries down the line. After that, you usually have to apply to the NCAA for an exception, which is how Purdue and Wisconsin used to have QBs born in 1982 still playing.
August 21st, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
Countess played a couple plays in one game last season, which would normally count as a season of competition and use up the second of his four allowable years. But because he was injured in that one game and missed the remainder of the season, the NCAA will grant him a hardship (i.e. medical) exemption and deem the 2012 season as one of non-competition. Countess will then be able to treat 2012 as a redshirt year, and have three rather than just two years of eligibility remaining. In fact, he's listed on the current roster as a redshirt sophomore.
Darboh will never see the field in 2013. He played last year, so he has three years of eligibility left. His injury simply means he'll take a redshirt year this year, and come back next year as a redshirt sophomore. The fact that his injury was the reason for his redshirt does not give him an extra eligibility year.
August 21st, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^
August 21st, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^