redshirt question

Scholarship is good the first year whether he plays or not.

another question: Is redshirting up to the player?

A variety of circumstances can initiate a redshirt year by coaches or players.

A redshirted year can be mutually beneficial to the player and the coaches.

Where a player might have a limited opportunity for playing time, it can be better not to use a year of eligibility until a year later when the log jam clears.

It also provides the coaches with a "known" player in the following year.

A redshirt year provides some options when things don't work out from the team or the players perspective in the fall.