I certainly understand this thought and ideally he would red-shirt this year. But I think it's pretty obvious that Shortell will play this year to get some experience. The staff has decided that Max is the 2nd best QB on the roster. At a minimum, we will need him to play in two years and we want him to be prepared to take over. But he is also an injury away from starting this year or next. We need a 2nd QB with game experience and there's only one way to get that. If Max is the 2nd-best QB, then he should be the one.
It appears that the plan is for Shortell to start his JR and SR years with Leidner and Nelson red-shirting next year and ready to take over after Max graduates. Of course that could change based upon who plays well and future recruiting.