College football coaches want freshmen to get a chance to play without necessarily wasting a year of eligibility.

At the coaches convention in Nashville, the AFCA proposed a new redshirt plan that could drastically change player development.

Under current rules, if a player plays one snap of a game, he has effectively burned his redshirt, meaning it will cost him one of his four years of play eligibility. Injured players who have seen limited action (less than 30 percent of team snaps or appear in less than four full games) are eligibile to apply for medical redshirts.

The new plan, allowing any player to play in four games or less without losing a year of eligibility could drastically impact player development and roster management. The AFCA’s tweet does not reference whether the four games would include postseason. A popular fan proposal, endorsed by some media members, is to allow freshman planning to redshirt to play in bowl games without losing a year of eligibility.

If the coaches’ proposal is adopted, cupcake games and non-playoff bowl games could become much more interesting for fans if it means coaches are able to play freshmen without worrying about the loss of eligibility.