Didn't want to bury this in some recruiting thread.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nca.../79603750/
Bottom line: There are many ways to delay putting a player on scholarship yet still get the recruit on campus and preparing to become a full fledged scholarship recruit.
Grayshirt is most applicable to us and other schools. E.g., if a school which notoriously promises more (scholarships) than it can deliver (looking at you, WMU), then they can offer a gray shirt to one or more of the commits. The kid might take a class in fall or not even attend school. He can work, save money, etc. and then enroll in January on scholarship. In spring semester he can do S&C, spring ball, and then summer classes and be ready to go for fall practice.
As much as it sounds like a bad thing to lay on a recruit, it actually can be a good thing IF done correctly. It is almost like having a redshirt year without having to burn a redshirt year. Heck, maybe the kid can take a few classes at his neighborhood JUCO and transfer them to his 4-year school. E.g., the kid takes two classes, works part time, works out in the gym, etc. and he has a nice 'head start' on his college career. The extra money is nice. Having a few extra classes completed means he has a better chance to graduate.
Before the advent of the NCAA's program to give $ to scholarship athletes, some recruits who come from very low income families would graduate from high school and start college say in July and be broke. It is nice to say that the athletic scholarship is worth 20, 30 or 40K per year, but it didn't put $ in the kid's pocket and sometimes these kids come from home where the family is working poor or even on public assistance. Every so often we hear about a homeless recruit (e.g., Michael Oher or our women's T&F athlete a few years ago).