The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 55 BY JOHN BORTON S hea Patterson confirmed last Dec. 21 that he'd be returning to Michigan for his senior season. Sean Patterson insists he knew much sooner. The father of Michigan's heralded quar- terback watched his son carefully in the cal- dron of hate known as Ohio Stadium last November. He saw Shea battered, and his leg injured, by relentless Buckeye pursuit, spurred on by 100,000 onlookers transported over time from the Roman Colosseum. All witnessed the Wolverines fall that day, shockingly so, given their play in the Big Ten to that point. They saw Patterson return to the game with a brace on his right knee, not leaving until the clock read 00:00 and the scoreboard 62-39. What only a few watched over the next hour convinced a dad that his son would pull on the winged helmet for another season. Michigan staffers handed Patterson support- ive devices to assist him in getting to the team bus. Patterson handed them back. "I knew when he wouldn't use the crutches they gave him to walk out of that Ohio State stadium, he was coming back to play," Sean Patterson insisted. "I don't think they've seen the best Shea Patterson yet. "He was off that leg for a long time. Peo- ple didn't realize how hurt he was. He still tried to come back in the game. But he was not leaving that stadium with those Ohio State fans watching him walk onto that bus on crutches. "I knew, right then and there. I told Jim [Harbaugh], 'He's coming back next year — I guarantee that.'" Four weeks later, his son confirmed it for the college football world. The frustrations weren't finished, in a 2018 season that featured 10 straight vic- tories for the Wolverines. A beaten-up and personnel-depleted shadow of the squad that tore through the Big Ten season lost the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in lopsided fashion to Florida. After that game, Patterson's competi- tive ire couldn't be disguised. Questioners probed him about the future and the jarring end-of-season brick wall the Wolverines hit. His answer revealed as much fight as him stiff-arming the crutch bearers. "We've got a lot of up-and-coming guys," Patterson challenged. "We can sit here and talk negative about Michigan doesn't win the big games all we want … what else is there to say? We're going to come back and work our butts off in the spring, and we're going to go from there." All Eyes On 2019 They're going there, armed with a new offensive coordinator, a "speed in space" at- tack featuring a host of talented receivers, a veteran offensive line and a quarterback tast- ing 2018's blood in his mouth guard. It's an understatement to say Patterson's embraced the challenge ahead. He still bristles a bit when thinking about the end of last season. His answer these days involves doing whatever it takes to change the ending. "It's just taking that frustration out and focusing on that," Patterson said. "You can't go back. You can't get the Ohio State game back, you can't get the Florida game back, you can't get the Notre Dame game back. We're just moving forward." You can't get those games back, but they still come back — sort of like motivational thorns in the posterior. "A lot of our guys have been using the Notre Dame game and the Ohio State game as the extra drive in the back of our heads," Patterson admitted. "That pushes us to work harder. "The last one, for sure. The Notre Dame game was tough. First week, and you lose to a team by a touchdown. But that last one … Ohio State was unacceptable. It had a huge impact." The senior quarterback remains anxious to experience the impact of several factors in the buildup to the 2019 season. He has a new quarterback coach in Ben McDaniels, who has already boosted his game, in conjunction with having played a year under Harbaugh. "He brings a level of focus, of being more engaged, knowing everything you do," Pat- terson said of McDaniels. "When you're not in there taking reps, you're taking men- tal reps. You should be totally mentally ex- hausted at the end of practice, because of how locked in you are. "He's definitely slowed the game down for me." Meanwhile, new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has sped the game up, in a good way. Michigan's no-huddle, pro spread at- tack figures to take advantage of both Pat- terson's mobility and passing skills, along with the depth and talent of his receivers and the running backs that emerge. Upon taking the OC job, Gattis almost im- mediately sat down with Patterson to begin the grooming process. Asked about the sud- den change in approach, the veteran quarter- back stifled a laugh. "This is my sixth OC in six years," Pat- terson said. "It's something I'm used to. I'm a quick learner. As the quarterback for the team, you do what's asked of you. … For me, it's an easy transition. It just feels natural." For Gattis, it's a wide-open opportunity in his first shot at completely running an offen- sive show. Having a senior quarterback, and a very skilled challenger in redshirt sopho- more Dylan McCaffrey, can't hurt. The new boss agrees with those who like Patterson's plusses in his offense. "He's got a quick release, something that's very effective and efficient in the RPO [run- pass option] game," Gattis assured. "He's got a soft ball, and he can place it anywhere on the field. To me, he's a complete guy. He can also create plays with his feet, as he often did last year. "I'm really excited about Shea and his de- velopment. He's comfortable in this offense, as he stated. He's also very passionate. Shea has a lot of me inside of him. We're two very passionate people." That's evident, whether it's exulting over a positive play or self-directed barking over a missed opportunity. "He often shows it in plays," Gattis said. "If he overthrows a guy, he's got a certain demeanor about it. If he makes a play, he's jumping. That's what I like. It's driven inside of him. He's got that passion, that energy inside of him to be great. "When you have those leadership quali- ties, you make other people great around you, and he does." Senior running back Tru Wilson witnessed that passionate leadership up close last sea- son. "His mindset is like no other," Wilson said. "The guy is a winner. You can just tell, he wants to win. That's something you can't teach. He was born with it. He's a baller, and we need that mindset to take us far." Former Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight observed that the "handcuffs" will be off Patterson in the new offense. While Patterson understandably downplayed the In 2018, Patterson completed 210 of his 325 passes (64.6 percent) for 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns with seven interceptions while leading Michigan to a 10-3 record. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "His mindset is like no other. The guy is a winner. You can just tell, he wants to win. That's something you can't teach. He was born with it. He's a baller, and we need that mindset to take us far." SENIOR RUNNING BACK TRU WILSON