No college football player’s development is the same.
Some might be ready to contribute the day they set foot on campus. Others need time to acclimate themselves to the leap from high school to the collegiate level.  
It’s hard for most coaches to judge when and how to utilize an athlete – but not for LSU football coach Les Miles. The conundrum of who to play and who to sit is quite an easy issue for him.
“I really want the best players on the field, period,” Miles said Monday in his weekly “Lunch with Les” press luncheon. Miles doesn’t care if he starts a true freshman in front of a fifth-year senior. The ability to make plays and win football games is all that matters.
Miles has shown that when it comes to deciding whether to redshirt a player, play him right away or remove a redshirt from him midway through the season, he knows all the right moves.
Junior defensive ends Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery are the best pair of defensive ends in college football. Mingo’s speed and Montgomery’s power make it a nightmare for opposing offensive line coaches to game plan against them.
Despite the dominant seasons both juniors are poised for in 2012, they were both redshirted their first year on campus in 2009.
After waiting in the wings for a season, both contributed significantly in 2010.
Montgomery had six tackles-for-loss and garnered Freshman All-Southeastern Conference honors despite only playing in five games before tearing his ACL against Tennessee. Mingo finished the season tied for ninth on the team with 35 tackles and played in all of the Tigers’ 13 games. 
Mingo and Montgomery will likely be top 10 picks in the 2013 NFL Draft, but Miles’ decision to redshirt and ease them into the college game is a major reason for their success.
While patiently waiting for a season was the recipe for success for Mingo and Montgomery, Miles doesn’t shy from putting freshmen on the field.
Former cornerback Tyrann Mathieu had one of the best freshman seasons in LSU history in 2010.
Miles didn’t care the Honey Badger was only a freshman. Mathieu was fourth on the team in tackles, picked off two passes and forced a team-high five fumbles.
Because of Miles’ “best player will play” mentality, Mathieu was given the opportunity to contribute from day one.
After Brandon Taylor went down with a foot injury against Alabama, freshman Eric Reid stepped in to fill the void at safety. Being able to put a freshman into such a high pressure situation shows the supreme confidence Miles has in his players to perform when called upon.
With the experience he gained from starting as a freshman, Reid can offer first-hand advice to freshman cornerback Jalen Mills, who will make his first collegiate start Saturday.
Even when a player is given a redshirt by Miles, he shouldn’t get too comfortable on the sideline.
Two players in 2011, defensive end Jermauria Rasco and safety Ronald Martin, were both redshirted as true freshmen – then Miles had a change of heart.
Rasco was called into action against Mississippi State because Miles thought he possessed too much talent to not make a contribution on an already-stacked defensive front.
With only three games left in the regular season, Miles burned Martin’s redshirt after Reid was set to miss a game against Ole Miss after a quadriceps injury. It takes some serious swag to burn a player’s redshirt season for him to only appear in three games.  Miles did it without thinking twice.
Seeing true freshmen receive significant snaps from the get-go can only help attract recruits to LSU who want to the see the field immediately. I don’t expect that trend to end anytime soon, with freshmen Mills, Kwon Alexander and Deion Jones likely to see numerous snaps immediately in 2012.
When it comes to determining when a player is ready to take his talents to the field, the Mad Hatter is head and shoulders above the competition.
Micah Bedard is a 22-year-old history senior from Houma.
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Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected] Twitter: @DardDog