BK has already stated he wants the full 25 per year + ee's, I would not be surprised to see us climb into that +25 range yearly.  Next year he can take 25 + 6 or 31, we need to quit worrying about the 85 cap, according to BK, ND did not play at 85 last year. We sat at 84 including walk-ons that got scholarships.

atlabuck wrote: Not sure I understand the downside of preserving a kid's redshirt year his freshman year and then not offering him a fifth year if he doesn't pan out. Seems like a win-win to me if you don't need him on the field his freshman year.

So back to the original question. Assuming all fifth year eligible players come back next year, how many slots would ND have.  After that, which 5th year guys are unlikely to be invited back?

rbiddie wrote:

BK has already stated he wants the full 25 per year + ee's

KurzND wrote:

atlabuck wrote: Not sure I understand the downside of preserving a kid's redshirt year his freshman year and then not offering him a fifth year if he doesn't pan out. Seems like a win-win to me if you don't need him on the field his freshman year.

So back to the original question. Assuming all fifth year eligible players come back next year, how many slots would ND have.  After that, which 5th year guys are unlikely to be invited back?

I think Seattle is saying that those who have used playing time and are not likely to start would be then more likely to transfer. 

To answer your question, if all 5th years come back we are looking at 12 open scholarships. But only 5 of them will come back. So without injuries transfers 18 open. I expect ND will get 19-21. 

RT Lombard (starter)
CB Wood, S Collinsworth, and TE Welch, were all expected starters or contributors who were all hurt this year. 
As well as Chris Badger who went on a 2 year Mormon mission.

KurzND wrote:

As well as Chris Badger who went on a 2 year Mormon mission.

rbiddie wrote:

BK has already stated he wants the full 25 per year + ee's, I would not be surprised to see us climb into that +25 range yearly.  Next year he can take 25 + 6 or 31, we need to quit worrying about the 85 cap, according to BK, ND did not play at 85 last year. We sat at 84 including walk-ons that got scholarships.

domw1 wrote: 18-20 next year max.

SeattleNDfan wrote: One thing I believe you will see going forward is to cut down the number of scholarship slots occupied unproductively from the team standpoint, we will see kids who the staff knows aren't going to pan out as big time contributors playing early as freshmen on special teams to burn eligibility years which come back to haunt the coaching staff later on when the non-contributing player is waiting around to play a fifth year somewhere else. 

This will result in fewer kids who stick around and then transfer to play a fifth year elsewhere, because that NCAA rule is significantly affecting ND's ability to sign larger classes. 

ND absolutely owes it to every kid who signs a chance to earn their degree. It absolutely does not owe them preserving their eligibility so they can play another year somewhere else after that.

Moving forward and reading between the lines, I think you will see only offense and defense linemen routinely redshirting down the line, with skill position players on both offense and defense being thrown into the fire early to see what they have.

atlabuck wrote: Not sure I understand the downside of preserving a kid's redshirt year his freshman year and then not offering him a fifth year if he doesn't pan out. Seems like a win-win to me if you don't need him on the field his freshman year.

So back to the original question. Assuming all fifth year eligible players come back next year, how many slots would ND have.  After that, which 5th year guys are unlikely to be invited back?