Van Jefferson led the Gators in receptions and yards in his first season at UF. (Photo: Kelly Streeter/UAA Communications)
Jefferson, Patterson Took Different Paths to Peach Bowl
Friday, December 28, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
ATLANTA – One has already made his decision. The other plans to make his known soon.
Sounds sort of like a year ago at this time for Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and Gators receiver Van Jefferson.
In a twist neither player imagined last December when they took an official recruiting visit together to Michigan, Patterson and Jefferson will be on opposite sidelines here Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The former Ole Miss teammates were looking to transfer after the 2017 season due to NCAA sanctions against the Rebels for infractions during ex-Rebels coach Hugh Freeze's stint.
A year later, Patterson enters the Peach Bowl as Michigan's starting quarterback and Jefferson as Florida's top receiver. Jefferson had little doubt that Patterson, a native of Toledo, Ohio, and one of the top prep quarterbacks in the 2016 signing class, was headed to Ann Arbor when Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh showed interest.
"From the jump,'' Jefferson said.
Patterson did his best to persuade Jefferson to follow his lead, but with family in Florida and an opportunity to remain in the Southeastern Conference and play for new Gators coach Dan Mullen, Jefferson was the one who passed.
He was familiar with Mullen's success at Mississippi State and, well, Florida's sunshine is year-round, unlike the gloomy weather he experienced on the trip to Michigan.
"I played against him and you could see what he did at Mississippi State, how he turned that program around," Jefferson said. "I knew when he came here, he was going to do that at Florida. He attacks the day. I've got that mentality, too."
Jefferson leads the Gators with 31 receptions for a team-high 439 yards and six touchdowns. While he won't face Patterson directly in Saturday's game, he'll keep a close eye on the 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior each time Patterson drops back to pass.
Van Jefferson plans to make his decision known about next season after Saturday's Peach Bowl. (Photo: Paul Abell/Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl)
Jefferson first met Patterson after his freshman season at Ole Miss when the prep star visited campus on a recruiting trip. The two made a quick connection that carried over onto the field the next two seasons.
"I just remember like, man, is this the No. 1? Because he's real short," quipped Jefferson. "I didn't know he's the one. Then he got to campus, and I see him throw the ball. Man, I see why he's a five-star."
When Jefferson resisted Patterson's pleas to join him with the Wolverines, he understood and they remain close friends. Patterson called the day the Peach Bowl announced Michigan and Florida would be playing against each other.
"Coming to Michigan is the best decision I've made for myself,'' Patterson said. "Me and Van were really close at Ole Miss. I'm pretty tight with his family. Obviously it's really cool that it's our bowl week and his, too. I'm happy for him. I think we're both just ready to get out there and compete."
In his first season at Michigan, Patterson earned All-Big Ten third-team honors, completing 65 percent of his passes for 2,364 yards and 21 touchdowns. In his Wolverines debut, Patterson completed 20 of 30 passes for 227 yards in a loss to Notre Dame, providing a tease for what was to come. Michigan won 10 consecutive games after the loss before losing at Ohio State in the regular-season finale.
It was Patterson who kick-started an exodus of Ole Miss players following a tumultuous 2017 season that started with Freeze losing his job right before the season opener. In all, seven Rebels transferred and were granted eligibility to play this season at other schools.
"Michigan was one of the schools that hit me up,'' Jefferson said. "He kind of set the tone with that. He did help out with that. I should thank him for that."
Once the Gators got involved, Jefferson headed south to join Mullen, whose primary objective was to add talent at a position of need and offer Jefferson a new beginning.
Jefferson had to wait throughout the summer to receive clearance from the NCAA and SEC to resume his career at UF.
"You always hope for his sake that the NCAA would give him the opportunity to go play and not punish him for mistakes made by other people and other institutions,'' Mullen said Friday. "Everybody had the opportunity to come in and start fresh, and I think that was very attractive to him to have a situation where he was starting fresh in his college career."
Meanwhile, with both players eligible to enter the NFL draft, they each faced big decisions again this December. Patterson made his last week, announcing he would return for his senior season.
"It's a big lift,'' Harbaugh said. "He's been getting better at everything. He's an ascending player. He's really serious about being good."
Jefferson isn't ready to make his decision public. Will he follow Patterson's lead this time, or like a year ago, go his own way?
"We're going to see after the bowl game,'' Jefferson said. "I've got an idea of what I'm going to do."
