TheHoosier.com took a deep dive on three aspects of the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines that fans should know about heading into the final home game of the season in Bloomington.
Understanding Shea Patterson, looking into what makes the passing defense good, and breaking down the stable of receivers Michigan could use Saturday.
Understanding Shea Patterson
When Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson left Ole Miss for Ann Arbor after the 2017 season, there was a lot of hope at Michigan. After all, Patterson was the No. 63 prospect all-time coming out of IMG Academy and the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2016 class. And he had also started since he was a freshman at Ole Miss.
But since he arrived in the program, he hasn’t performed as well as anticipated. He completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 2,600 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a junior. Not bad, but not what Michigan fans were hoping for out of the top 2016 quarterback.
Then this season, he didn’t get off to a quick start. In his first four Big Ten games – Wisconsin, Rutgers, Iowa and Illinois – he totaled 56-of-103 passing for an average of 209 yards passing with six touchdowns and three interceptions. That four-game stretch included a loss to Wisconsin.
Since then, though, Patterson has gone 67-of-108 in four games – Penn State, Notre Dame, Maryland and Michigan State – for an average of 228 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception.
