Trevor Downing... burn the redshirt?

[dualthreat]

Offensive line is a brutal position to play. Guys get banged up and some get injured. No team goes without injuries throughout the year.

From what I hear, we will have some pretty good depth across the OL this year. That being said, this group needs to improve a lot before being considered one of the top tier groups in the conference. It sounds like Meyers is really opening up the competition and even mentioned Downing specifically as guys that have stood out this spring.

Downing could potentially be here for "6" years if he redshirts and plays 4 years for us now that he's enrolled early. That's a long time for a body to endure the tolls of his position.

I think this kid could have an NFL future. And I also think if he can help us win in September, we should play him. Obviously, I'm not at practice. I'm not Campbell or Meyers. I'm speaking from a fan perspective. I saw an OL last year that needs an influx of talent and it sounds like Hudson and Bolton are getting some serious looks.

Seeing how any team is likely to have some starters and depth sit for a few games (injuries), I'm not going to be surprised to see Downing play this season. He's got the size, the strength, and the intelligence to make an impact in 2018.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Hopefully we can redshirt him. On the line, we have the following not including our true freshman that will probably contribute:
JGJ
Newell
Knipfel
Oge
Kleinow
Bolton
Windham
Meeker
Foster
Nogaj
Hudson

Talent wise, he's probably one of our best 5 OL, but it's really hard for true freshman on the OL

 

[dualthreat]

By our first game, he will have been in the program for 8 months so I wouldn't consider him the same as most tFR

 

[Scott34]

I look at it this way, if he has the talent and beats the other guys out to be a starter, then burn the redshirt. If he makes the 2-deep as a back up, make him redshirt.

 

[CloneGuy8]

By our first game, he will have been in the program for 8 months so I wouldn't consider him the same as most tFR

Good point.

 

[IASTATE07]

I don't really get the 6 years comment. He'd still only be playing 5 years of football.

 

[dualthreat]

I don't really get the 6 years comment. He'd still only be playing 5 years of football.

Just because he enrolled early. Fall 2022 is a long ways away. A lot can happen between now and then and you know what you've got with him right now.

 

[dualthreat]

I look at it this way, if he has the talent and beats the other guys out to be a starter, then burn the redshirt. If he makes the 2-deep as a back up, make him redshirt.

What I think will end up happening is he'll be our 7 or 8th guy. That's a tough spot because it's likely 1 or two guys are going to miss time this yr. So do you jump him with the 9 and 10 guys or play him? He wouldn't start but he'd be much needed depth. I say, in that case, play him.

 

[TheJackWePack5]

Hopefully he is able to redshirt.

I understand if he's in the top 5 that would be tough but I think there are enough bodies there now to let him RS.

We'd be glad to have him for the 3-4 years after that.

 

[CyCloned]

Clearly there needs to either be guys that have played making big improvements, or some of the younger guys are going to play. Last year's OL was horrible at run blocking. Not sure how else to put it. If you rewatch a few games you will see time and again where Montgomery was making guys miss in the backfield, or making a great cut to get a couple yards.

Wish I could go the spring game just to watch the OL play. I keep hoping that they will broadcast it some year.

 

[NATEizKING]

Excited for Downing and Ramos. 6'4" 295 and 6'5 305, hope they can RS still though.

 

[Rural]

He might start.

 

[clonedude]

Excited for Downing and Ramos. 6'4" 295 and 6'5 305, hope they can RS still though.

This is what I was thinking.... do we even know if Downing will be the best freshman OL this season? Ramos, for one, might be better.

 

[ILikeCy]

I'm probably in the minority, but I say play the players that give you the best chance to win more games now. If that means you burn a redshirt and lose that player a year earlier down the road, so be it. The tradeoff is if you win more games, you have a better chance of recruiting equivalent or better players down the road.
With that being said, the player should be a clear difference maker, and should play meaningful snaps in at least half the games, otherwise it starts to be a questionable decision.

 

[Dandy]

Unless he is an elite talent (which doesn’t come to ISU often) you always want to try and redshirt linemen.

 

[dualthreat]

I'm probably in the minority, but I say play the players that give you the best chance to win more games now. If that means you burn a redshirt and lose that player a year earlier down the road, so be it. The tradeoff is if you win more games, you have a better chance of recruiting equivalent or better players down the road.
With that being said, the player should be a clear difference maker, and should play meaningful snaps in at least half the games, otherwise it starts to be a questionable decision.

I feel the same way and created this thread to elicit this discussion. I don't think most fans agree with this philosophy.
I'll throw out two recent examples of redshirts "gone wrong"
***Disclaimer***
Most redshirts are a good thing.

However: Kene Nuwangwu didn't redshirt, then missed all of 2017. Still had a redshirt available.
Jake Campos DID redshirt, then lost most (all?) Of 2016. Lost 2 years of eligibility. Retired.

 

[cayin]

Our line was so pathetically bad at run blocking last year, it is hard for me to imagine things can improve that much in one season, especially with yet again quite a few young guys in the mix. I'm not a football expert, but why were we so freaking bad? Was it talent? Experience? Technique? Run blocking philosophy?

 

[Bipolarcy]

Hopefully we can redshirt him. On the line, we have the following not including our true freshman that will probably contribute:
JGJ
Newell
Knipfel
Oge
Kleinow
Bolton
Windham
Meeker
Foster
Nogaj
Hudson

Talent wise, he's probably one of our best 5 OL, but it's really hard for true freshman on the OL

I don't think Kleinow and Nogaj will be contributing this year. The coaches have rarely talked about either one since practice started except to say that Nogaj has been banged up this spring. I think Kleinow is still a little too small. At 6-6, 279, he's practically a string bean.

 

[IASTATE07]

I feel the same way and created this thread to elicit this discussion. I don't think most fans agree with this philosophy.
I'll throw out two recent examples of redshirts "gone wrong"
***Disclaimer***
Most redshirts are a good thing.

However: Kene Nuwangwu didn't redshirt, then missed all of 2017. Still had a redshirt available.
Jake Campos DID redshirt, then lost most (all?) Of 2016. Lost 2 years of eligibility. Retired.

How is Kene's redshirt gone wrong?

 

[Aclone]

Jake Campos DID redshirt, then lost most (all?) Of 2016. Lost 2 years of eligibility. Retired.

I’m kinda lost here. Jake weighed no more than 260 or so as a true freshman. No way he could have played. How is that a “redshirt gone wrong”?