Redshirt
A college football term
Sitting out a season of competition while staying enrolled and practising, so the year does not count against a player's eligibility. A player may appear in up to four games and still redshirt that season.
The four-game rule changed how teams use young players. A freshman can play in a stretch run, or in blowouts, and still keep the year.
A redshirt freshman is therefore in his second year on campus but his first year of counted eligibility, which is why rosters list ages that seem off.
A medical redshirt is a different thing: an extra year granted after a season-ending injury, subject to how much of the season had already been played.
You’ll hear it like this
He played the first three games, then they shut him down to preserve the redshirt.
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Checked 2026-08-07.