(06-25-2018 04:53 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(06-25-2018 01:39 PM)ChrisLords Wrote:  

(06-25-2018 07:21 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  NFL is 50 plus 5 practice squad players I believe.

There is no need to run 85 scholarship programs.

Except when you have excessive injuries in the NFL, you trade for a replacement player or hire someone who is not on a team. In college your limited to that 85 players and usually 20-25 of them are redshirting. Up until this year that limited you to 60-65 players. Now, at least, you can dip into your redshirts without them losing a year of eligibility.

Use the walk on program.

(06-25-2018 05:49 PM)bullet Wrote:  Its called walk-ons. Seems like somebody did that for a kicker in the last couple of years.

To ensure that you have the proper roster balance you are going to end up having to recruit "walk-ons" so the only "savings" you are going to see is the scholarship. This is already happening with "preferred" walk-ons, but usually there is a reason why they don't have scholarship offers elsewhere. Hunter Renfrow was a preferred walk-on but there was absolutely no way he was physically ready to play his first year on campus and honestly would have likely got himself hurt had he played his redshirt year.

And picking up a walk-on kicker isn't that big of a deal. Most campuses have kids who either kicked in HS or played soccer. Good luck finding a capable OL, DL, or LB from the general student body,

Hell, Clemson got a punter from an ad in the student newspaper back in 86. Granted he was a hell of an athlete and went on to play pro ball.....in the MLB for the Brewers, Mets, and Astros. Bill Spiers had been a QB, Punter, Placekicker, and Infielder at Calhoun Academy. He's now a graduate assistant with the football program while pursuing his masters and his son is our starting punter. But most walk-ons you get from the general student body aren't anywhere physically capable of participating in DI athletics without being at risk of injury.