The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353
24 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2018 want you, Shea. If you're not eligible, that's just another year you have here to work. There's no pressure there. I'll take you either way.' "He talked to Shea, he talked to me, and I think Shea liked the challenge. Coach straight-up told him, 'There's no promises. I can't guarantee you'll play. I guarantee I'm going to coach you up, and you'll have an opportu- nity to compete.' "That's all Shea wanted." The Pattersons knew Matt Dudek, Michigan's director of recruiting, with whom Sean Jr. had worked at Arizona. Dudek added to the comfort level. But it was Harbaugh who proved precisely what his son needed after coming out of the "hell" that Ole Miss became, Sean Sr. assured. He illustrated that with a simple story. "Shea had some back spasms in spring practice," Sean Sr. said. "It just happens sometimes. I got a phone call from Jim. He says, 'I took Shea out today, because he had some back spasms. He's working really hard, doing really well. In case he told you that, our trainers are all over it. He'll be back tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know.' "That's the head coach. On Oct. 15, when Shea got hurt against LSU, the head coach at Ole Miss, Matt Luke — who is a really good guy — came over to visit and check on Shea. "But after that, we never heard once from his offensive coordinator, won- dering how Shea was doing, how the family was doing. "There's more to college football than games. You're sending your son to be raised like a man. That really left a sour taste in my mouth, and that's something we were looking for when we were looking for a new school — someone that's been around, that's not just trying to get to the next job." The Pattersons found that in Ann Arbor, and not just in the head coach's office, Sean Sr. continued. "I watch Shea on the field, and he's so much more mature now," the elder Patterson explained. "He has someone he believes in, and someone he's learn- ing from. It's not just Coach Harbaugh. There's Coach [Pep] Hamilton, Coach [Jim] McElwain … "This is Shea's sixth offensive coor- dinator in six years. These guys have taken a guy that didn't know the of- fense on Jan. 1, to starting for a top-20 team in September of the same year. They've taken him and really, really taught him the game of football." RELAX AND GROW Dropping the opener at Notre Dame reinforced a hard lesson about grow- ing from a loss. But Patterson kept that in perspective as well. In the days leading up to the final non-conference contest, he appeared on The Ticket, 97.1 FM out of Detroit, and delivered a reminder to those on the ledge following a hard-fought, season-opening, 24-17 defeat. "I think everybody just needs to re- lax a little bit," he offered. "It was our first game, and we lost by a touch- down at Notre Dame." Patterson certainly demonstrated good days could be just around the corner, finishing the non-conference slate going 46-of-65 passing (70.8 per- cent) for 589 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions. He beat himself up more than any- one after the loss in South Bend, espe- cially over a late fumble on a drive that could have tied the game. But he also made it clear he's moving forward, with Harbaugh and the Wolverines liking what they see out of him. "He's really been good," Harbaugh said. "He's really been intense and fo- cused each day of practice. You expect that out of a quarterback. You expect that out of somebody who plays that position. You expect that from all play- ers. "But his level of focus and intensity during practice, and execution, has been really good. We felt like he was the one who was playing the best and gives our team the best chance to win." Patterson's three touchdown passes against Western Michigan demon- strated an ability recognizable re- gardless of opponent, and Harbaugh pointed it out. "A couple of throws Shea made — the one he made to his left to Oli- ver [Martin] on the boundary, being chased, that was a high-level, unbe- lievable play," Harbaugh said. "He had the touchdown pass to Donovan [Peoples-Jones] that really stood out as Patterson (with his dad) was listed as a five-star recruit, the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2016 coming out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Only defen- sive linemen Rashan Gary and Clemson's Dexter Lawrence were ranked higher by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY PATTERSON FAMILY