SoonerManiac
02-02-2007, 05:18 PM
K-State recruit bitter
Former Oklahoma signee wants to join Wildcats to get redemption against Sooners.
By HOWARD RICHMAN
The Kansas City Star
No need to see outside linebacker Chris Patterson’s face to detect the bitterness. You can hear it in his voice.
Patterson, one of the top junior-college players in the country, said by phone this week that he plans to sign a letter of intent next Wednesday with Kansas State. That isn’t necessarily, however, the school that stirs his passion. That distinction belongs to Oklahoma.
“I hope we get a chance to play Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game,” Patterson said. “I’m probably looking more forward to that than playing in a national championship game.”
What a difference three years make.
Patterson — once regarded among the top 15 players in the nation coming out of high school — signed to play with the Sooners. Twice. He never imagined it would come to this back in 2004. That’s when he was in the same Oklahoma recruiting class that included running back Adrian Peterson and quarterback Rhett Bomar.
“He was the third major part of that class,” said Josh McCuistion of Sooner Scoop.com. “Brent Venables (former K-State player, coach and currently assistant at Oklahoma) on signing day said he (Patterson) was possibly the best linebacker he ever signed. They thought he would probably go pro after his junior year, he was that good.”
But here we are now, 2007, and look at what has happened when you compare Patterson with Peterson. Peterson announced he will turn pro and enter the NFL draft in April. Then there’s Patterson, who still has not played a single snap in Division I-A.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Patterson. He was a five-star recruit (the most stars you can receive are five) according to Rivals.com as a high school senior in Chicago. Rivals rated him the No. 3 outside linebacker and the No. 15-best player in the entire country.
“He destroyed people,” Rivals.com recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree said. “He would level people, and they would fly off the opposite direction.”
No wonder Oklahoma wanted Patterson, who is 6 feet 3 and 220 pounds. But when it was learned he was an academic casualty, Patterson enrolled at Oklahoma’s request not too far away at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla. He redshirted, then played in 2005 and signed a second time with the Sooners when again it was found he was ineligible.
Patterson returned near his home to play in 2006 for Joliet, Ill., Junior College. But this time in the recruiting process, Oklahoma cooled on him.
“I think OU had some guys they wanted to pursue at the high school level instead,” Crabtree said.
Patterson, hurt that the Sooners went a different direction, picked K-State over Oregon and Mississippi.
“I felt Kansas State was a chance to start all over again,” Patterson said.
If he gets his academics in order, finally, Patterson plans to join K-State’s program in May. And, finally, get his shot at major-college football.
“It’s taken a while to get to this point,” Patterson said, “but I finally feel like it’s my time.”
Former Oklahoma signee wants to join Wildcats to get redemption against Sooners.
By HOWARD RICHMAN
The Kansas City Star
No need to see outside linebacker Chris Patterson’s face to detect the bitterness. You can hear it in his voice.
Patterson, one of the top junior-college players in the country, said by phone this week that he plans to sign a letter of intent next Wednesday with Kansas State. That isn’t necessarily, however, the school that stirs his passion. That distinction belongs to Oklahoma.
“I hope we get a chance to play Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game,” Patterson said. “I’m probably looking more forward to that than playing in a national championship game.”
What a difference three years make.
Patterson — once regarded among the top 15 players in the nation coming out of high school — signed to play with the Sooners. Twice. He never imagined it would come to this back in 2004. That’s when he was in the same Oklahoma recruiting class that included running back Adrian Peterson and quarterback Rhett Bomar.
“He was the third major part of that class,” said Josh McCuistion of Sooner Scoop.com. “Brent Venables (former K-State player, coach and currently assistant at Oklahoma) on signing day said he (Patterson) was possibly the best linebacker he ever signed. They thought he would probably go pro after his junior year, he was that good.”
But here we are now, 2007, and look at what has happened when you compare Patterson with Peterson. Peterson announced he will turn pro and enter the NFL draft in April. Then there’s Patterson, who still has not played a single snap in Division I-A.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Patterson. He was a five-star recruit (the most stars you can receive are five) according to Rivals.com as a high school senior in Chicago. Rivals rated him the No. 3 outside linebacker and the No. 15-best player in the entire country.
“He destroyed people,” Rivals.com recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree said. “He would level people, and they would fly off the opposite direction.”
No wonder Oklahoma wanted Patterson, who is 6 feet 3 and 220 pounds. But when it was learned he was an academic casualty, Patterson enrolled at Oklahoma’s request not too far away at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla. He redshirted, then played in 2005 and signed a second time with the Sooners when again it was found he was ineligible.
Patterson returned near his home to play in 2006 for Joliet, Ill., Junior College. But this time in the recruiting process, Oklahoma cooled on him.
“I think OU had some guys they wanted to pursue at the high school level instead,” Crabtree said.
Patterson, hurt that the Sooners went a different direction, picked K-State over Oregon and Mississippi.
“I felt Kansas State was a chance to start all over again,” Patterson said.
If he gets his academics in order, finally, Patterson plans to join K-State’s program in May. And, finally, get his shot at major-college football.
“It’s taken a while to get to this point,” Patterson said, “but I finally feel like it’s my time.”