An 'awesome' rule will make its presence felt for WVU in bowl

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The impact of the redshirt rule is going to be in full display in the Camping World Bowl.

While there won’t be the recognizable faces of Will Grier, Gary Jennings or Yodny Cajuste playing in the game for various reasons it will open the door for some of the younger players on the roster.

“And this new redshirt rule, it’s awesome,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We’d be in some deep crap if I didn’t have that rule right now.”

The rule, which came into effect this season, permits for players to see action in up to four games without losing a year of eligibility. It’s a drastic change over the previous model which would dock players an entire season if they were inserted for game action.

So naturally after some time off and outside the grind of the regular season a bowl game makes the perfect practice grounds to allow some of those younger players on the roster a chance.

That will certainly be the case for West Virginia.

Because Grier won’t be playing in the game West Virginia must prepare true freshman Trey Lowe, who hasn’t seen any game action this year, to at worst serve as a backup in the game. But Holgorsen has made it clear, at least in media sessions, that he will be used in the game.

The same can be said at wide receiver where the doors will be opened for true freshmen such as Sam James and Bryce Wheaton to take on a larger role. Both have appeared in games this season but will safely fall under the umbrella in order to retain a full season of eligibility.

“Those guys have a great future. They’re young talented guys that are very hungry and very excited to be good and work hard,” senior wide receiver David Sills said.

But it’s not just going to be at the positions affected by players not suiting up. Across the board it will be a chance for coaches to test drive the future by getting a number of different players into the game to see how they handle the big stage.

Among those that could make their debuts are freshmen such as tight end T.J. Banks and offensive center Briason Mays on offense and defensive tackle James Gmiter on the other side of the ball. Others that have already seen limited snaps could take on larger roles as well such as freshman safety Kwantel Raines and junior offensive lineman Mike Brown, each of which will redshirt.

And there could even be more.

“We’re not at an issue right now with guys that are true freshmen who’ve played. Everybody’s available right now that’s on our roster for defense. We can play every guy,” coordinator Tony Gibson said.

It’s a reward for those players that wasn’t there in the past and a chance for the coaches to evaluate those players in live experiences so they can come back in January with a different mindset.

“You can sit there and be upset with Will Grier and Yodny and Gary because they aren’t going to play, but those are pretty good reasons why they wouldn’t,” Holgorsen said. “I’m good, because we have a whole bunch of other people on our team that get an opportunity to go play a football game.”

All because of a now golden rule.

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