There was a time when ND wasn't doing red shirting--at least like the rest of college football has been doing it. I googled it and saw some mention of it. I remember this from way back when I wrote weekly articles for CougarBlue (website of Provo Daily Herald) many years ago and we were playing Notre Dame. To have a 5th year, a student would have to get permission from the Faculty Board on Athletics, which wasn't automatic whatsoever.