"No, he's not playing this year. He's a red shirt."
A college
athlete in the
NCAA is given 5 years from the time of
enrollment to participate in 4 competitive seasons of any and all of the athletic programs available at the school. So as soon as you start school, you're
burning your time. Some people choose not to compete during their first year, in order to gain
experience before beginning their 4 years of
real competition. These individuals are commonly referred to as "red shirt freshmen".
The red shirt rule was
ostensibly written to provide for a year of recovery time, should an athlete sustain injuries which preclude competition in his/her sport.