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Could Shea Patterson come to Michigan?

Shea Patterson (#20, image via UPI)

WHO IS SHEA PATTERSON?

For those of you hardcore followers of Michigan (and Michigan recruiting), you may have heard in recent weeks some rumblings about Shea Patterson. Patterson is a sophomore quarterback for Ole Miss, but Ole Miss’s recent sanctions from the NCAA – a bowl ban through the 2018 season and some scholarship reductions – may open a door for him to transfer. Over the past two seasons, he completed 238/392 passes (60.7%) for 3,139 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as a part-time starter. His 2017 season was shortened by a torn knee ligament, but he should be ready to play in 2018.

Patterson has family in the Toledo area and his grandfather, George Patterson, played for the Detroit Pistons. He was offered by Michigan as a part of the 2016 recruiting class, but he was committed to Arizona at one point and eventually flipped to Ole Miss. He was a 5-star, the #1 pro-style quarterback, and #4 overall in his recruiting class. He attended high school in Louisiana before spending his senior year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. For a kid just finishing his sophomore season, he has been all over the map in the last few years with his living situation and allegiances – Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi.

Hit the jump for further thoughts on Patterson.

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Senior Highlights: Aidan Hutchinson

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Brandon Graham

Brandon Graham

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham made 5 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble in a 31-3 win over the hapless Chicago Bears. That’s sack #7 on the year.

HONORABLE MENTION

• New England Patriots QB Tom Brady was 18/28 for 227 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception in a 35-17 win over the Miami Dolphins
• Seattle Seahawks DE Frank Clark made 2 tackles and 0.5 sacks in a 24-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers
• Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess made 7 catches for a career-high 108 yards in a 35-27 win over the New York Jets
• Minnesota Vikings LB Ben Gedeon made 3 tackles in a 30-23 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day
• Baltimore Ravens DT Willie Henry made 3 tackles and 1 pass breakup in a 23-16 win over the Houston texans
• Dallas Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis made 2 tackles in a 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers
• San Francisco 49ers OT Erik Magnuson started his second career game in a 24-13 loss to the Seahawks
• Cleveland Browns FS Jabrill Peppers made 7 tackles and 1 punt return for 13 yards in a 30-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
• Green Bay Packers LB Jake Ryan made 8 tackles in a 31-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Jacksonville Jaguars SS Jarrod Wilson made 2 tackles in a 27-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals

Maurice Ways, Ex-Wolverine

Maurice Ways, Jr.

Redshirt junior Maurice Ways, Jr. announced on Wednesday that he would be seeking a fifth year elsewhere. As a graduate transfer player, he should be eligible to play immediately in 2018.

Ways graduated from Detroit (MI) Country Day and caught his passes from quarterback Tyler Wiegers, who has gone on to play for Iowa. Ways initially wanted to concentrate on basketball in high school, but his average height (6’3″) led him to pursuing college opportunities on the gridiron. I gave him a final TTB Rating of 81, because I saw him as a player who would eventually be that big, pro-style receiver that Michigan fans got used to seeing in the 1990s and early 2000s. Unfortunately, he continued to be a little raw – perhaps going back to that early concentration on basketball – and struggled occasionally with drops.

Ways appeared to be on the right track in 2015 when he caught 3 passes for 40 yards as a redshirt freshman, and he followed that up with a spring in which he was thought to be headed toward more playing time. Then he suffered a foot injury, which caused him to miss time, and he never really recovered that momentum that he had seen going into 2016. He ended his Michigan career with 6 catches for 47 yards.

The Wolverines have a bunch of receivers who have passed Ways for playing time, including Kekoa Crawford, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black, and Grant Perry. Ways is a good blocker and reportedly an excellent human being who was involved in a lot of volunteer and leadership activities on campus. He’s a good team and locker room guy, so hopefully he can find a place where he can be a little more successful on the field, too.

Alex Malzone, Ex-Wolverine

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alex Malzone announced that he would be transferring after he graduates this year. Malzone enrolled in January of 2015 and earned a start in his initial spring game. However, he never stepped on the field across three seasons. The closest he got was last weekend, when starter Wilton Speight and backup Brandon Peters were injured. Malzone was the #2 guy behind John O’Korn against Ohio State, but he wasn’t needed.

I said the following about Malzone during his recruitment:

Malzone runs a somewhat multiple offense and has experience dropping back, from shotgun, or from the pistol formation. He has a slight build and is a little short at a listed 6’2″. He runs his offense very well, is a good ball handler, and seems to be in command. He’s a good athlete who can get on the edge a little bit and make some things happen with his feet, but he’s not a blazer. Malzone gets the ball out on time and shows good accuracy and touch. His throws on skinny posts appear to be right on the money, but I question whether he has the arm strength to squeeze those in there against faster and longer defenders. He has a little bit of a hitch in his throwing motion where he brings the ball down to throw it, not totally unlike a right-handed version of Tim Tebow. Michigan’s coaching staff has been somewhat erratic with the quarterbacks they’ve recruited (the 6’3″ sorta dual-threat Russell Bellomy, the 6’3″ Shane Morris with a rocket arm, the 6’6″ Wilton Speight), but I look at Malzone and see him being too short and lacking the arm strength that Michigan likely wants.

I ended up giving Malzone a TTB Rating of 73 when he committed in the transition year between Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh, but with the other guys on the roster, it seemed unlikely that he would ever make an impact. He was passed up by literally every other scholarship quarterback on the roster, except classmate Zach Gentry, who moved to tight end.

This won’t affect Michigan next year, even though Speight is also transferring and O’Korn is graduating. Brandon Peters will go into 2018 as the expected starter, while Dylan McCaffrey has also earned high praise from the coaching staff. With two freshmen coming in the 2018 class, the Wolverines will have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster – and the staff may pursue transfers at the position, too.