The NCAA enacted a new rule last season that allows college football players to play in up to four games and still maintain their redshirts, and the Michigan Wolverines' football program took full advantage of the concept.
Seventeen of their 20 freshmen redshirted in 2018, with kicker Jake Moody, wideout Ronnie Bell and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson being the lone exceptions.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has taken a different approach this time around, however, with eight of the 25 freshmen having already exceeded the four-game barrier, and potentially more to come.
Four others (outside of the aforementioned eight) have made three or fewer appearances this season, meaning their redshirts are still intact for the time being (but will be lost if/when they play in five or more contests).
Notes
• Five freshmen have appeared in all nine games so far this season — running back Zach Charbonnet, wideouts Mike Sainristil and Giles Jackson, nickelback Daxton Hill and linebacker Anthony Solomon.
It's worth nothing that eight of Solomon's nine appearances have come solely on special teams, with his three snaps at linebacker last Saturday marking the first three he had seen on defense all year.
• Three more freshmen have played in eight of Michigan's nine outings, in tight end Erick All, receiver Cornelius Johnson and defensive tackle Chris Hinton.
All likely would have been a full participant in all nine affairs if an injury wouldn't have kept him out of the Oct. 12 victory at Illinois.
The Oct. 5 triumph over Iowa was the one clash Johnson did not see time in, while the Sept. 21 loss at Wisconsin was the only one Hinton did not appear in.
• Cornerback D.J. Turner saw action on special teams in U-M's first three games, but has not been inserted into a contest since. Assuming he did not suffer an injury, all signs point toward the coaching staff wanting to keep his redshirt intact.
• Left tackle Karsen Barnhart is the only one of Michigan's five offensive linemen who has received playing time, seeing the field in wins over Middle Tennessee State and Rutgers.
• Linebacker Charles Thomas' only appearance occurred on special teams in the season-opening triumph over the Blue Raiders.
• The fact that defensive tackle Mazi Smith did not play in the Wolverines' first eight games of the year baffled much of the fan base, though he finally made his first appearance last Saturday in College Park.
His debut late-season action could be a sign that the coaches wanted to save his four games for the stretch run, or it could simply mean that he's progressed enough for the staff to finally trust him on the field.
• Safety Quinten Johnson had surgery before the 2019 campaign even began, so it was known he would not be seeing the field this year.
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