The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 37 BY JOHN BORTON S tudents in the "Maize Rage" student section at Crisler Center chanted "We want Shea! We want Shea!" at the UCLA game Dec. 10. They've got him. Shea Patterson, sophomore trans- fer quarterback from the troubled Ole Miss program, is coming to Michigan. He confirmed it in a tweet the following day. Thanking the folks at Mississippi, the former No. 1 prep quarterback in the nation stated: "I am now ex- cited to announce my commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at The University of Michigan. It's time to go to work." Reaction around the country as- sured that many think Jim Har- baugh's fourth team at Michigan will indeed go to work. Even ESPN's SEC-centric Paul Finebaum, a noted Harbaugh basher, insisted Michigan becomes "a con- tender" in 2018 if the NCAA allows the veteran quarterback to play right away. It's expected that will be the case, making Patterson far and away Michigan's biggest recruit for the coming season. He's not bringing high school numbers to the table, but a track record from two seasons in the Southeastern Conference. "He can be a big part of their solu- tion," Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell said. "A lot of people are saying, 'Now they can win the national championship.' "He'd be a big piece, because he can extend the play, which the other quarterbacks on the roster can't do. He sees the field a lot better than them." Redshirt freshman Brandon Peters — Michigan's starter for the Outback Bowl Jan. 1 — and true freshman Dylan McCaffrey will look to answer those presumptions in spring ball. But there's no question Patterson im- mediately raises the level of compe- tition behind center for the Wolver- ines. In 10 games with Mississippi over the course of two seasons, Patterson threw for 3,139 yards and 23 touch- downs. Injury kept him from playing in the final five games of his soph- omore campaign, but he still com- pleted 63.8 percent of his throws for 2,259 yards with 17 scores. Against an Auburn secondary that came into the showdown No. 14 in the nation in passing yards allowed this year, Patterson torched the Tigers with a 34-of-51 passing effort that produced 346 yards and two touch- downs. Rivals.com pegged Patterson as a five-star prospect, and the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 3 overall player nationally in the 2016 class coming out of IMG Academy in Bra- denton, Fla. He's done nothing since to dissuade anyone from that notion. Patterson is extremely mobile, of- ten reversing field against the pass rush to fire throws downfield. He'll be doing so now for what some have labeled "Ole Mich." The NCAA released a number of hard-hitting sanctions on the Ole Miss football program Dec. 1, noting that it "lacked institutional control and fostered an unconstrained cul- ture of booster involvement in foot- ball recruiting." The governing body gave Missis- sippi three years probation, accepted a university self-imposed postseason ban for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, vacated a host of regular-season and postseason wins, and accepted uni- versity self-imposed scholarship re- ductions through 2018-19. Players who will be seniors in 2018 were immediately granted the right to transfer and play elsewhere with- out sitting out. The younger players have been awaiting official word on their status, but expect to be granted the right to transfer and play next fall. A BIG BATTLE COMING Quarterback at Michigan became a position of intense debate, disrup- tion and doubt during the 2017 sea- son. Redshirt junior Wilton Speight, fresh off guiding the Wolverines to the brink of the Big Ten champion- ship game and the College Football Playoff in 2016, figured to take the next step. Instead, Speight took a shot in the Big Ten opener at Purdue that frac- tured multiple vertebrae. The injury sidelined him for the season, and he announced after the loss to Ohio State he's seeking a graduate transfer for his final year of eligibility. Fifth-year senior John O'Korn stepped in, finishing strong against Purdue but struggling thereafter. He threw three interceptions among five Michigan turnovers in a 14-10 loss to Michigan State, took a beating in a rout at Penn State and eventually fired an interception on a possible game-winning drive against Ohio State. Between those latter two contests, Peters stepped in to take over, mak- ing three starts and playing effec- tively at times. A concussion late in the third quarter at Wisconsin ended his regular season, ushering O'Korn back into the lineup versus the Buck- eyes. Now Speight and O'Korn will be gone. Peters gets another audi- tion against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. Michigan coaches have raved about McCaffery's efforts on the demon- stration team and his all-around preparation. Patterson dramatically impacts — if not takes over — the discussion leading up to spring football. Doug Skene, five-time Big Ten champion GAME CHANGER Analysts Insist Ole Miss Quarterback Transfer Shea Patterson Makes Michigan A Contender C o m i n g o u t o f B r a d e n t o n ( F l a . ) I M G Academy in the class of 2016, Rivals.com ranked Patterson as the top quarterback and No. 3 overall player in the country. PHOTO COURTESY OLE MISS ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS