Sale Job #1: Complete! Phillip Patterson Recommits

Out of the three decommits we had while Beamer had announced his retirement, this one seemed the most likely to recommit. Phillip Patterson, Bayside WR- we've followed his season most of the year, so I'll start with a re-post my previous assessment of him and link his new senior season highlight film below:

One thing's clear from his tape, if we did end up switching him to defense, he'd have to play free safety. He's got ball awareness, but his tackling form and choices are poor. That can obviously be taught/changed to some degree, but some of it is an attitude thing as well. People have to want to wrap up and bring people down in an organized manner to actually do so.

As for a wide receiver prospect? Patterson might as well be a clone, somewhere between Kumah and Deablo. He's yet another decent-speed, slightly-underweight for his size, larger-height wide receiver that can high-point the ball and outfight people for tossup catches. Decent strength, decent hands.

What I do see in him in his highlight reel on offense is a great ability to catch the ball on the run. That's what you're looking for in a good slot receiver or someone that you're going to be running in and out on tunnel and quick screens. We're short on wide receivers that can get inside the numbers and work effectively underneath the middle zone (while Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips are both good, that's not what I'd say is their strength). So there's still plenty of room for Patterson in a Fuente recruiting class.

What I will say is that this either shows one or both of two things if what I've heard behind the scenes is true. This is either a testament to Fuente and Holmon Wiggins and their ability to cold sell someone that they previously hadn't looked at, which is great, or that Coach Burden is coming back, which as I said earlier in my recruiting article, already had smoke around it. If either of these speculations proves to be true, I'd be happy with the result. We needed WR talent in this class and with Kumah, Denmark, Deablo, and Patterson, we'll have it. We've still got more talent with offers out- two new offers today in wide receiver Cedrick Wilson from Tenneessee (Coffeyville CC currently, and if that name sounds familiar to you, yes, he is Cedrick Wilson, Jr.) and running back Dae Williams from Oklahoma (SMU committed now, but we've already had a Crystal Ball flip to us on 247). Certainly has been an interesting few days out there.

One other thing to note: Patterson is a good commitment, but it's also one with an eye to the future of the Pipeline. Bayside is also currently home to a 2018 5-star linebacker, Teradja Mitchell. A lot of these 757 recruits are all about teammates, friends, and relatives. If we can keep things up at Bayside, it'd be a danged sight better than we had been doing.

But, lest I forget, nice to see you back Phillip. Let's go out there and win next year.