We’re inching closer to the start of the season and today I wanted to look at how the true freshmen are shaping up and who looks likely to redshirt. Consider this an early look at next year’s Reviewing the Redshirt series.

This is the first time since the 2014 class where it looks like a lot of players will be sitting out. If my memory is correct three years ago only 9 out of the 23 players to arrive on campus saw the field. Let’s see if we can narrow things down and figure out who will play among the 2017 freshmen.

Very Likely Playing

TE Brock Wright
TE Cole Kmet
DT Kurt Hinish
DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
S Isaiah Robertson
K Jonathan Doerer

Under Brian Kelly we usually see 40% of the freshmen playing on the low end and 60% on the high end. With just these 7 players we’re only looking at a third right now. At minimum, we should see a couple more from the list immediately below exhaust a year of eligibility this fall.

Everyone above looks in line to see at least some snaps from scrimmage with the exception of JOK and Doerer, the latter sure to handle kickoff duties. Owusu-Koramoah is currently third-string at the Rover position but is likely to play on special teams and could have a much larger role from scrimmage next year which usually means the staff will fast-track him as a freshman.

Borderline Group

WR Michael Young
WR Jafar Armstrong
OL Robert Hainsey
DT Darnell Ewell

Who will not redshirt from this group? Hainsey has impressed in his brief career but he’s probably the 8th linemen and third off the bench at best. Armstrong doesn’t appear to be in the plans for the offense and is a special teams-only guy. Young appears much more in the mix at receiver and could also be one of the kickoff returners. The highly rated Ewell hasn’t shown he’s worth snaps yet, however, to me he has the feel of someone who is going to burn his redshirt in the middle-to-late part of the season.

Very Likely Redshirt

QB Avery Davis
RB C.J. Holmes
OL Dillan Gibbons
OL Aaron Banks
OL Josh Lugg
DE Jonathan MacCollister
DE Kofi Wardlow
LB David Adams
LB Drew White
S Jordan Genmark Heath

You really have to stretch to make a case that anyone on this list should play in 2017. Maybe if Wimbush gets hurt and Book really gets overwhelmed there will be a turn to Davis? Does the shoulder of Holmes heal enough that he’s an addition to special teams later in the season? Does the physical stoutness of Genmark Heath eventually place him on special teams?

Additional Redshirt Opportunities

WR Javon McKinley
DE Julian Okwara
LB Jamir Jones
S Alohi Gilman

McKinley, Okwara, and Jones combined for 31 snaps from scrimmage last year as true freshmen. They spent much more time on special teams, though. Neither Jones or McKinley look like they will need to play, and neither was featured on special teams coverage units during Saturday’s practice. Will they actually try the old sophomore redshirt with these two?

Okwara is a long shot to redshirt as he’s in the mix at defensive end–probably in line for 50 or 60 snaps over the season–plus he’s been working with the special teams return unit. He’ll likely be a junior in 2018 with fewer than 100 career snaps but so it goes.

Gilman is still waiting on his waiver from the NCAA and might be forced to sit out after a transfer from Navy. This late in the process it might not be the worst thing for his long-term future at Notre Dame to redshirt.