KNOXVILLE - Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt is "not against" a potential NCAA rule change that would allow freshmen to play in up to four games in a season and still be credited with a redshirt year.
The NCAA Division I Council tabled the proposal Wednesday but could revisit the issue at its June meeting.
"If you were fortunate enough to where you had an opportunity to play a guy, and he could get some experience," Pruitt said, "it would be good to reward somebody that has worked hard, say on the scout team all year."
The NCAA's football oversight and student-athlete experience committees will review the proposal and provide feedback on the proposed rule change, according to an NCAA statement released Wednesday.
"Proponents argue that late-season injuries and other factors often require student-athletes who hadn't played all season to burn a year of eligibility for a small number of games," the statement read. "Others wonder whether the proposal could be applied to other sports, as well, whether the number of games in the proposal is appropriate, and whether the timing of the four games matters."
Had the rule been in place the past two seasons, two Tennessee offensive linemen and quarterback Will McBride could have received redshirts.
Sophomore offensive lineman Riley Locklear was forced to play in four games in November due to injuries and attrition on Tennessee's 2017 offensive line. Similarly, junior offensive lineman Marcus Tatum was forced to play in two games as a freshman in 2016 due to injuries.
Injuries to quarterbacks Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano forced McBride to lose a redshirt year and appear in two games late in the 2017 season.
"Well, to me, you would like to be in a position where if you needed to redshirt a guy, that you redshirted him," Pruitt said. "The unfortunate part is you look at a guy that possibly could be playing a position, and say you get a couple of guys hurt at the end of the year, and the guy has to go in and play two games. Say it's an offensive line position, and you have a bunch of guys that get hurt. You've got to play with five offensive linemen, so you put the guy in, and he plays two games. I think that (the proposed rule change) helps from that standpoint. So I'm not against it."
Pruitt seemed neutral in response to another recent rule change. Beginning this season, any kickoff between the goal line and the 25-yard line can be fair caught for a touchback, which results in first-and-10 at the 25.
"I haven't had time to think about the strategy part of it," Pruitt said. "I would say from a safety standpoint, I think anytime you raise your hand and fair catch the ball, there's probably not going to be as many folks running down there hitting each other as opposed to when they don't fair catch it.
"It's kind of like when you get a run and go and hit the wall, it hurts, but when it doesn't, it doesn't."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.