quote:
“I don’t see that happening,” Smart said. “I can’t say never because I don’t know what’s going to happen, but that’s certainly not in our plans.”

Instead, Fields will compete with starter Jake Fromm for the starting job and prepare to play in some capacity this fall.

Smart said the new redshirt rule, which allows a player to compete in four games and still be able to redshirt, won’t come into play.

“I think you guys are making way too big a deal about this redshirt thing and here’s why – I don’t really have a philosophy, the guy can either play or he can’t.

I think ya’ll think we sit around the table and got we should wait and hold this guy for four years,” Smart said. “These kids today, they can either play or they can’t. You want to develop and you want to grow them, but by their fourth year they’re either ready to leave, graduating, getting out of there or they’re possibly transferring. If they can help your team now, you play them now.”

That apparently includes Fields, the former five-star who has made a big impression since coming to school in January as an early enrollee.

“You don’t sit back and say he’s going to be better his fifth year if he redshirts,” Smart said. ”Think about redshirt seniors and tell me how many redshirt seniors have been effective, played a lot and played major roles on teams. They really don’t.”

“It’s not like back when you had Knowshon Moreno, he didn’t play, redshirted and was gone,” Smart said. “Well, you should have played him. You didn’t get as many years out of him anyway, so we’re really not making as big a deal out of it. We’re going to do game by game which gives us the best chance to win.”