What i'd like to think is that the players getting 'cut' were given a review of where they stand on the team and what the coaches saw their future was on the team. At that point the players is offered options of how they can retain their scholarship, contribute to the team and earn their degree. All in a similar fashion that Holmes was told that he wasn't needed at FB, but they could find a place on the D-Line.
Some player would choose to leave/ be cut from the team so they can move on to another team. Now would be a great time to offer this choice to the players so they can find another team/school prior to spring semester.
I'd hate to think that a scholarship player invest his future at a school and simply gets cut, like he was a professional player. Ultimately College football is a youth sport, in existence to develop our next generation of young men.