The idea of allowing transfers and redshirts to play in bowl games is being floated, and not just by national media types who are bored with the bowl matchups. Nebraska coach Mike Riley told me last week that the concept is being discussed within the American Football Coaches Association.
Is Riley in favor? He called the idea “interesting.”
“A guy like Tanner, or a guy like Patrick O’Brien could be available to appear in the game and not burn their redshirt?” Riley said. “That would really be interesting. It would immediately add about 25 guys to your roster.
“It’s funny, we talked about that as a staff the other day.”
It’s a terrific idea.
Understand, the reasoning that this would make some bowl matchups more interesting is a bit of a stretch. One or two redshirts aren’t going to make some games more watchable nationally. They would add more intrigue — in some cases a lot more — to the fans of that team.