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Throwing for 8,800 yards, 68 touchdowns to 27 interceptions for an average of just over 60% in his four-year career, Shea Patterson hoped, if not expected, to have his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft.
It wasn’t.
Still, given his playmaking ability, having achieved the second and ninth-best single seasons in Michigan football history — seventh all-time, in just two years — Patterson expected a call, an invitation to join an NFL roster.
That, also, didn’t come, apparently.
Patterson, a former five-star and the top-rated quarterback in the 2016 recruiting class, has faced his fair share of adversity. He played at two different schools, for four different offensive coordinators. At both locations, he was a fan favorite until he wasn’t. No, he never quite lived up to the hype, but he showcased that he was more than serviceable.
But it still wasn’t enough.
It’s Monday, and he has yet to sign with any team as an undrafted free agent. There’s a cadre of both a subsect of Michigan fans as well as rival groups from across the nation that have taken to social media to delight in Patterson’s seeming demise.
How did Patterson respond? By thanking his teammates on Saturday night via Instagram.
Despite the perceptions — he wasn’t outright named a team captain at the outset of the 2019 season, but was an alternate — he always showed moxie. But more importantly, he always had his teammates’ back.
Again, he wasn’t the perfect quarterback, but he got to live a literal dream, running up, touching the banner, and playing football in The Big House while wearing a winged helmet. Though that subset of vocal, angry Michigan fans who just yearn for wins over Ohio State clamored for Dylan McCaffrey, Joe Milton, or anyone else, he still persevered, becoming the first-ever Wolverines QB to throw for over 300 yards in three consecutive games. And there’s a lot of great ones who have worn that maize and blue under center.
Whether his time comes or not, Patterson seems to be maintaining that positive attitude, that fearlessness that led him to Oxford, to Ann Arbor, to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and to the NFL Scouting Combine. While it might not have worked out, he posted to Twitter on Monday, letting the world know that he’ll be waiting for that call to prove his mettle.
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity…I will be more than ready when my number is called.
— Shea Patterson (@SheaPatterson_1) April 27, 2020
Patterson’s game is imperfect. Perhaps he faced too much adversity, too many obstacles to climb. Donned a savior at two intercollegiate institutions, he showed flashes of greatness, but never brought either team to the Promised Land.
Love him or hate him, he’s a player who’s constantly shown his guts on the football field. He’s won games and he’s lost games — the majority of the former in Michigan Stadium, where he only has a No. 1 in the loss column. On a team that itself was imperfect, he gave the Wolverines chances to win more than surrendering to losses. Even with his final throw in a Michigan uniform, in a then-insurmountable deficit to Alabama in the VRBO Citrus Bowl, Patterson gave it his all, hurling the ball downfield. It was intercepted by Josh Jobe, but he never stopped trying to win.
Perhaps a team in the NFL will recognize that and give him a chance. Perhaps not. But one thing is for sure: he’s proven his mettle repeatedly, and he can do it again.