College football coaches are facing a new decision this season related to roster management.

The NCAA approved a rule change in June where players can play up to four games in a season without exhausting a year of eligibility. The days of hoping to get through a season without a star freshman appearing in a single game are over. Now coaches must decide how much to play freshmen who are capable of contributing early.

Because most teams have two to three nonconference games that should be lopsided, the question for the coaching staff becomes: Do they chance playing someone in three or four games, and risk having to burn a year of eligibility with an unexpected injury, or can’t afford to leave him out in a fifth?

Here are players who will cause difficult decisions for each coach:

Josh Jobe, Alabama

The Jalen Hurts question is out there, certainly. But let’s go to the other side of the ball. There was plenty of turnover in the secondary from last year’s national championship team. But the Crimson Tide loaded up on defensive backs, most notably Jobe and Patrick Surtain, Jr., who appear to be the most likely to play early. Between Saivion Smith and Levi Wallace, the Tide have a start on inking the depth chart, but the question will come down to Surtain, the higher rated of the two, and Jobe, who could easily be on that four-game bubble watch.

Bumper Pool, Arkansas

The Razorbacks return their top two tacklers from a year ago in De’Jon Harris and Dre Greenlaw, and Hayden Henry is another veteran starter. Pool has caught the eye of defensive coordinator John Chavis, but so have D’Vone McClure and Giovanni LaFrance. Given the lack of depth Arkansas experienced last season, the coaching staff will try to avoid that, and keep an eye toward the long term future.

Joey Gatewood, Auburn

The Cam Newton comparisons have already arrived, but so did the spring game performance when Gatewood was 4-for-12 passing for zero yards and six rushes that lost 5 yards. One wouldn’t think many snaps would be taken away from Jarrett Stidham, barring injury, and Malik Willis appears to be locked in as the backup, but there’s always the favorite armchair and bar stool chatter: special packages built for Gatewood.

Jacob Copeland, Florida

Making an immediate impact as a freshman can be done, but it’s a bit tougher when you arrive on campus in June. The Gators had 12 signees arrive in the summer, and Copeland appears to be the best bet to contribute in the special teams’ return game. Keep in mind, Florida has four veteran receivers expected to get a bulk of the targets, not including newcomer Van Jefferson.

Cade Mays, Georgia

The Knoxville, Tenn., 5-star recruit is projected to be a tackle, but offensive line coach Sam Pittman likes to cross-train his offensive linemen, and earlier this month, Mays moved inside to guard. Mays was the No. 22 overall prospect and No. 3 offensive tackle, according to the 247Sports Composite. Having said that, it is especially difficult for true freshmen to play early on the offensive line. Playing more than four games is even more improbable. Isaiah Wilson, who redshirted last year, is the projected starter at right tackle, one position where Mays has been ticketed.

Darian Kinnard, Kentucky

The Wildcats redshirted more than half of their signees in 2017. Kinnard was the second-highest signee in his recruiting class, and overall ranked the No. 22 offensive tackle in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. Kentucky’s line struggled last season as QB Stephen Johnson was sacked 27 times. However, there’s also not a glaring vacancy, short of a production or talent change. What’s more, Kinnard chose Kentucky over offers from Penn State, Tennessee and UCLA presumably because of a perceived chance to play early.

Kelvin Joseph, LSU

The No. 4 player in Louisiana in this class, according to 247 Sports, Joseph is being penciled in as a possible starter at cornerback. Coach Ed Orgeron has hinted that there’s a “strong possibility” Joseph, a converted safety, could start opposite Greedy Williams. He batted some balls down in a recent scrimmage, and depending upon how playing time is split with Kary Vincent, Joseph could easily surpass the four-game mark.

(Worth monitoring: With Joe Burrow winning the starting quarterback job, backup Myles Brennan is now a candidate to play in 4 or fewer games and redshirt.)

Marcus Murphy, Mississippi State

A former high school quarterback, Murphy has spent time at nickel and free safety during fall camp, and also as a returner on special teams. Murphy hasn’t threatened to win one of the starting jobs, and is also seen as a backup at nickel. An early enrollee, the one-time Mr. Football was ranked the fourth overall recruit in Mississippi according to 247Sports. Given the positions locked up on defense, special teams could be the toughest decision with Murphy and the coaching staff.

Nick Bolton, Missouri

The Tigers are stocked at the top of the depth chart at linebacker, but Bolton has played his way into more than just a spare part contributor. However, there are four freshmen linebackers on top of the two seniors and a junior expected to start, so dividing the number of plays could be an issue.

“The older guys have done a great job of bringing those guys along,” defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said, according to the Kansas City Star. “Nick Bolton, he’s out there making the same checks that Terez would make. Cale Garrett knows the defense as well as I do. Nick is a reflection of Cale.”

Bolton’s ability to grasp the playbook has amazed both his coaches and teammates, which led Odom to say Tuesday that the 6-foot freshman will play “real snaps” on defense this season.

Matt Corral, Ole Miss

The Long Beach, Calif., native and one-time Florida commit appears entrenched as the backup to Jordan Ta’amu. In the preseason, Corral (cover photo) reportedly worked with the second- and third-team offenses. But offensive coordinator Phil Longo has been quoted by the Clarion-Ledger as saying that the new rule could make a difference from previous seasons and situations like this.

“If something changes or the season goes in a direction where he doesn’t get on the field more than four times,” Longo said, “obviously (the new rule) would be a huge advantage.”

Josh Vann, South Carolina

It’s difficult to find a deeper unit than wide receiver at South Carolina as the Gamecocks have more than a handful of veterans. But Vann also turned heads in the preseason, and was among the players competing for the punt return job. That’s after he was ranked as the No. 25 wide receiver prospect in the country, according to 247 Sports.

J.J. Peterson, Tennessee

Academics have stalled the prized linebacker, and Peterson wasn’t enrolled in classes by Wednesday, when they opened in Knoxville. As each day progresses, Peterson’s future this season seems more cloudy, but coach Jeremy Pruitt remains confident, and Peterson is listed on the team’s roster.

Even if he’s cleared by the end of the month, it’s a long shot that he makes a significant impact having missed June and July workouts. However, if there’s a prospect who could do it, it’s Peterson. He was the No. 48 overall player and the No. 3 outside linebacker prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 class. He chose Tennessee over Georgia and Alabama and was the top-ranked signee in the 2018 class.

Leon O’Neal Jr., Texas A&M

Jimbo Fisher has sung O’Neal’s praises after he was the No. 75 player nationally, No. 8 safety and No. 8 player in Texas, according to 247 Sports. So it’s plausible he at least sees the field in limited action. One wild card is Donovan Wilson returning from injury, while Derrick Turner showed flashes as a true freshman. O’Neal could be hard-pressed to crack the starting lineup with the veterans ahead of him, but he’s another candidate to be on that four-game bubble.

Camron Johnson, Vanderbilt

The 4-star receiver is pegged as the third or fourth player on the depth chart, but the Commodores are trying to replace their top receiver from last year, and lost the production of 14 touchdowns from seniors who left after last season. So there’s plenty of production to be replaced.