UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Hannibal]

It sounds like Patterson is a done deal.

[AlabamAlum]

If so, a huge get.

[Hannibal]

It would be for somebody else but the more I see and read about the guy, the less I think that we're going to be seeing big time production out of him in Harbaugh's system.

[AlabamAlum]

I think he's talented enough of a thrower to flip to that scheme. Now you will have someone who can avoid coverage sacks and defenses will have to prepare for QB runs and even called QB draws out of the pro set.

[Cody_Russell]

It would be for somebody else but the more I see and read about the guy, the less I think that we're going to be seeing big time production out of him in Harbaugh's system.

Yea, my thought exactly. During spring game, it will be interesting to see if the formations change for Patterson.
Point to the time when Shea has been under center. If not, I’ll stick to the idea that QBs going from a spread to pro is a notable adjustment. Calling plays in a huddle and center exchanges.

Harbaugh changed it up from Alex Smith to Kaepernick. Probably will do the same.

[Rocky Bleier]

I think he's talented enough of a thrower to flip to that scheme. Now you will have someone who can avoid coverage sacks and defenses will have to prepare for QB runs and even called QB draws out of the pro set.

It would be refreshing to see a quarterback who can extend plays or even gain a few yards when everyone is covered.

[Jeff Buchanan]

If so, a huge get.

Not so sure. I've read the comments on him (almost all positive) and seen a shit-ton of video. I'm no expert on QBs but ......

One comment I saw that stood out to me ..... Patterson is somewhere between Tate Forcier and Johnny Manziel (without the off-filed problems).

That description fits the video I've seen. He does have that live arm that creates a quick release. He also demonstrates the ability to put the ball exactly where it needs to be to optimize the play (sometimes).

Like O'Korn (and Forcier) though he tends to leave what appears to be a decent pocket and then tries to create ...... that was Manziel in a nut shell too. The difference between O'Korn (Forcier) and Manziel in terms of successfully creating is admittedly huge. It's not that huge between Patterson and Manziel. The video I saw (not intended hype video) of Patterson demonstrates some pretty impressive play making.

We're going to hear all kinds of reports prior to spring ball and after it about the QB competition. But, like the 2017 season when "Peters looks better than Speight" was all the rage, it was Speight that started.

The thing to keep in mind is that Patterson is more likely going to play in JH's system than JH is likely to fit his system to Patterson. This could be a big deal. Both Speight and Peters were previously coached in the WCO passing scheme. What I mean by this is that there are going to be multiple receivers running different routes and it's up to the QB to read the defense and then decide who is open, i.e., that QB has to read the entire field. O'Korn OTH generally had one read to make in one piece of the field as opposed to the entire field (usually out of the Pistol).

How Harbaugh handled Kaepernick at SF could be instructive. Harbaugh shifted to a Pistol offense that featured a lot of single read play action, but also some 2 and 3 read patterns. The reason JH made that change was to get as much as he could out of Colin Kaepernick by elevating his comfort, shortening his read progression, and letting him read pieces of the field instead of the entire field. He did the same thing with O'Korn - the INT he threw v. osu is a perfect example of a simple read of two patterns (Crawford and Gentry) he failed to make.

What's the lesson here? Looking at video of Patterson, he's wasn't being asked to run a WCO passing scheme at Ole Miss. It appears to me to be a simple PA (under center) or pistol scheme and the reason he starts trying to create so frequently is that the one or two receivers he has to read are probably covered (caveat on video from TV doesn't show this).

This is the beauty and the complexity of the WCO passing scheme - more options but more complexity for the QB. Peters has a pretty substantial advantage in the WCO over Patterson. Is JH going to try to mold Patterson into a more useful and full bodied WCO guy or see if he can be a better version of JOK, something like Colin K who also presented NFL defenses with a run threat (sort-of).

I think this question highlights the difficulty for Harbaugh in fashioning a 2018 offense. With limited practice time, do you coach-up a WCO passing scheme for the QBs and receivers or keep it simpler. Do you incorporate plays that present a run threat from the QB like Patterson or not? Thinking about this, I tend to favor the former and then this begs the question can Patterson flourish in that system or is Peters going to be the guy.

Stay tuned and disregard all the Patterson hype.

[AlabamAlum]

He was MVP of the 2015 Elite 11. He has gone through two HCs and an NCAA investigation as distractions. He threw for over 2200 yards in 7 games this year - and that included Alabama, Auburn, and LSU games. He is a legit talent.

[Rocky Bleier]

The only thing I saw on film that I didn't like was his tendency to force throws into tight coverage. He has that gun-slinger mentality that will result in some costly turnovers from time to time.

[AlabamAlum]

This past year his TD:INT rate was 17:9...but yeah, he is a gunslinger. You will get some INTs.

[WM Wolverine]

Patterson has already played a fair bit, there is some known quantity aspect. He's played alot more than Brandon Peters.

[hack]

He was MVP of the 2015 Elite 11. He has gone through two HCs and an NCAA investigation as distractions. He threw for over 2200 yards in 7 games this year - and that included Alabama, Auburn, and LSU games. He is a legit talent.

I agree with this. No need to overthink things. Very talented player who has lived up to the hype. And the kind of QB JH has selected and won with before. I won't be surprised if Peters holds him off and keeps the job, but that's not the base-case scenario of this happens.

[Jeff Buchanan]

He was MVP of the 2015 Elite 11. He has gone through two HCs and an NCAA investigation as distractions. He threw for over 2200 yards in 7 games this year - and that included Alabama, Auburn, and LSU games. He is a legit talent.

I'm not disputing he's a legit talent.

What I'm getting at is in the details, you know, that devilish kind of stuff.

Devin Gardner was a 5* legit talent ...... Brady Hoke and Al Borges failed to take advantage of that. Borges had a scheme - that schematic advantage BS - that generally failed to optimize Gardner's skill set. It happens.

I think there is a legitimate debate about whether or not Patterson will succeed in Harbaughffense. In terms of styles of offense, you couldn't have a bigger difference between that of Hugh Freeze and Jim Harbaugh.

Freeze ran a finessing spread offense at Ole Miss. Frankly, it wasn't good enough to contend in the SEC v. beefier teams like Alabama, UGA and Auburn. Flashy, exciting? Yes but inside the red zone they sucked. From my limited knowledge of Ole Miss's offense with Patterson at QB, it still looked pretty spready to me at least according to the video I've seen of it featuring Patterson's play.

I've already posted why I think the passing schemes that JH appears to want to run (WCO type) could be problematic for Patterson. I'm not saying it WILL be. I've pointed out the differences between what he most likely ran at Ole Miss and what he might be asked to run at M. How Patterson AND the coaching staff do with that is most likely going to determine how we see and judge Shea Patterson as M's QB of the future.

[Da Geezer]

He was MVP of the 2015 Elite 11. He has gone through two HCs and an NCAA investigation as distractions. He threw for over 2200 yards in 7 games this year - and that included Alabama, Auburn, and LSU games. He is a legit talent.

Correct.

And his college career is not the limit of his work product. He played HS football in Texas and transferred to IMG. Don't overthink this. He's a quality quarterback prospect coming to a team that that desperately needs talent at that position. Now, if we can just get an OL or two that is able to keep him upright....

[Jeff Buchanan]

Well, apparently it's official. A number of sources are reporting Patterson and only Patterson of about 1/2 dozen Ole Miss players considering transfers, to M. Details are scant and there's nothing official from the U itself.

mgoblog is also reporting it.