Toledo native Shea Patterson leaving Ole Miss for Michigan
12/11/2017
Mississippi quarterback Shea Patterson (20) passes against Vanderbilt in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Oxford, Miss. Patterson says he will transfer to Michigan, where coach Jim Harbaugh has gone through three starting QBs this season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANN ARBOR — Shea Patterson is coming to Michigan.
And this time, he’s staying. As a bonus, he might be bringing some teammates with him.
The former Ole Miss quarterback, who visited the University of Michigan on Saturday, announced Monday in a Twitter post that he will transfer to UM.
— Shea Patterson (@SheaPatterson_1) December 11, 2017
“Thank you to the wonderful people, teammates and coaches at Ole Miss,” Patterson tweeted. “It is a special place and I will always have great memories of my experience in Oxford. I am now excited to announce my commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at The University of Michigan. It’s time to go to work. #GoBlue.”
Patterson, a Toledo native, was the No. 1-ranked pro-style quarterback in 2016, the same class as Brandon Peters. He threw for 3,139 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 career games at Ole Miss in two seasons.
In 2017, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound Patterson played seven games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,259 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
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Patterson, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, tore the PCL in his right knee Oct. 21. He will be 100 percent for spring practice.
Ole Miss receiver Van Jefferson and safety Deontay Anderson visited campus with Patterson. They’ve come to be known as the “Ole Mich” trio. The Rebels were saddled with significant NCAA sanctions in early December, prompting the three players to seek another school. Patterson is filing a waiver with the NCAA to be eligible immediately.
Jefferson and Anderson are former four-star recruits. In two seasons, Jefferson has 91 catches for 999 yards and four touchdowns. Anderson was second-team All-SEC as a freshman before redshirting this season because of Ole Miss’ bowl ban.
Michigan freshman offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz, who was Patterson’s center at IMG Academy, hosted the three players during their visit.
“I think [Shea would] be a good fit in anybody’s program,” Ruiz told reporters. “He a great quarterback.
“More competition makes everybody better. I don’t think anybody feels threatened really.”
If Patterson is eligible in 2018, he will enter spring practice in a competition with the redshirt freshman Peters and freshman Dylan McCaffrey.
With Peters, Wilton Speight, and John O’Korn splitting quarterback duties this season, Michigan has the 112th-ranked passing offense, averaging a meager 25 completions for 168.6 yards per game. Peters has started three games — and Jim Harbaugh indicated he will start the bowl game — completing 37 of 64 passes for 486 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
“Any time you can add a guy like Shea, you do it,” said Allen Trieu, recruiting analyst for 247Sports.com, “and the competition should make whoever wins the job better.”
The pressure already was increasing for Harbaugh, who is a well-documented 1-5 against his chief rivals — 0-3 vs. Ohio State and 1-2 vs. Michigan State. The stakes only rise in 2018 with the entry of Patterson into the equation.
During his tumultuous high school recruitment, Patterson committed to Arizona, among others. Matt Dudek was the Wildcats’ director of recruiting, a position he now holds at Michigan, which played a pivotal role in the Wolverines’ landing Patterson.
“There's always a guy you look back at that you didn't get,” Dudek tweeted Monday. “[N]ever been so happy to get a [second] chance! Here's to looking forward! #GoBlue[M]”
Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @KyleRowland.