The topic of playing time expectations could be a topic all to itself. Our son made his decision knowing that he might not get a lot of playing time his first year. But this school was where he wanted to be based on every other factor. He went into it knowing that he would have to pay some dues. Did he ever second guess his school choice? Never, to my knowledge. But there was a time in the middle of that first year when he wondered whether he should have redshirted.
What I am about to say is not a comment on anyone else's situation, because everyone's situation is different. EVERYONE wants to play as much as possible, as soon as possible. I get that. And I don't fault anyone for that.
But my question is has the idea of paying your dues gone by the wayside? Have kids/parents gotten so caught up in the "need" to play early that they are making less than optimal choices from the educational stanpoint? Aren't there benefits of paying your dues as well?
Maybe I'm just showing my age. I can remember when freshmen weren't ALLOWED to play in some sports. And college baseball is definitely different from other sports because of partial scholarships, the draft, the transfer rule, etc. All of that makes the decision a lot harder.
But sometimes I wonder.