How do other schools get their talented freshmen to start games their first year/season?

I'm thinking of OSU with Jeremiah Smith, and recently Jesse Legree at Oregon State. The "reasons" we used to hear under BK was that the freshmen players didn't understand the uber complex playbook yet. Are we still having the same issue under MF with Mike Denbrock?

I don't comprehend why Notre Dame can't get these guys playing earlier. It's not like our WR room is stacked with NFL talent