Penn State football has three games left in the regular season. None of them are against currently ranked teams or viewed as high-stakes matchups. With such little time remaining and a College Football Playoff run potentially looming, the Nittany Lions are aiming to give more freshmen playing time.

James Franklin’s program has a “green/yellow/red” chart determining which players will burn their redshirts, which ones could depending on circumstances, and which ones won’t. It is subject to change throughout the season, especially as it comes to a close.

Franklin said on Monday he’s ready to use 11 more freshmen, starting this weekend when Penn State faces Purdue in West Lafayette.

Corey Smith, Tyseer Denmark, Eagan Boyer, Donnie Harbour, Xavier Gilliam, Max Granville, Jaylen Harvey, Anthony Speca, Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, Kenny Woseley, and Jon Mitchell were all mentioned as players who could possibly see an increase in reps.

“Some of these guys, it will be this game. Some of the guys, it will be next game,” Franklin continued. “But the guys that have only played in one game, they’re good to go. The guys that have played in two games, we’ll probably try to hold them for another game.”

Smith, of course, saw playing time against Washington last week. He managed 95 yards with just five carries, although it included a 78-yard run. He entered for Nick Singleton, who was dealing with a short-term injury.

Denmark has also played in one game with a 13-yard catch against Kent State. Penn State isn’t dealing with any injuries to its wide receivers, though.

The future Penn State offensive line and front seven have perhaps generated the most excitement. While Alex Birchmeier and J’ven Williams are expected to anchor the offensive line, the four-star Harbour and three-star Boyer have paths to playing time. The Nittany Lions have dealt with some bumps and bruises on the line, meaning they could both see time.

Among Harvey, Speca, and Granville, the latter generated serious excitement when he enrolled early over the summer. Franklin specifically highlighted the Texas native as someone who’ll play.

“I think Max Granville is a good example. We had decided, I guess, in some ways, to green-light him in terms of if we needed him to win, he was going into the game. But we weren’t just going to put him in if he wasn’t necessarily needed,” he said.

Like Denmark, Granville only played against Kent State. And like Franklin, multiple players have raved about how good the 6’3″, 229-pound defensive end has been in practice.

Meanwhile, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith has his own rotation plan for Woseley and Mitchell.

“I think Terry [Smith] is a pretty good example, with Kenny and Jon, he rotates them every other game. And last week it was Kenny’s time to be ready to go if the game presented an opportunity. So he was able to get in there. He’s played two games. Jon’s only played one, so this will be Jon’s game. Now, Jon can play the rest of the year. And then next, not this game, but the next game, Kenny will be in a similar situation,” Franklin said.

This week’s game against the Boilermakers may be a good opportunity on paper to use more freshmen. They haven’t won a Big Ten game, and Smith in particular could be in line for playing time if Singleton can’t go.

However, it would be reasonable to expect to see the most freshmen used against Maryland. The Terrapins, who have just one conference win, come to Beaver Stadium two days after Thanksgiving to close the regular season. If the Nittany Lions take care of business against Purdue and Minnesota, a sizeable lead against the Terps would probably mean most starters are benched and more freshmen see reps, especially because a College Football Playoff appearance would likely be inevitable at that point.