"According to Fox Sports’ Stewart Mandel, a new rule is being proposed to the NCAA by the American Football Coaches Association that, if passed, would allow players to play in up to four games during a season without burning their redshirt year. So technically speaking, head coaches could save their four-star signees and beak them out just in time for bowl games, and the player could still redshirt that season."
Link: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/5/8/15583306/rule-proposal-true-freshman-four-games-bowls-redshirt