Former Five-Star QB Shea Patterson Considering Transfer From Ole Miss

Former five-star quarterback Shea Patterson, the No. 1 ranked quarterback in the Class of 2016 who signed with Ole Miss out of high school, has been granted permission to talk with other schools about potentially transferring.

According to ESPN, Ole Miss executed a “permission to contact” form for Patterson, giving him free rein to openly communicate with other schools — essentially allowing for him to be recruited as he was out of high school as the No. 3 overall player in the country.

So how does that relate to OSU?

Among the numerous scholarship offers out of high school he held included Oklahoma State, a team that will soon be exiting the Mason Rudolph era and looking for another face of the program. Even more interesting, he has connections to the program. Patterson was the 7-on-7 quarterback for the Louisiana Bootleggers team that featured current OSU receivers Tyron Johnson and Jalen McCleskey in high school.

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While many believe Spencer Sanders is likely to be that guy (he is), OSU will almost certainly gauge Patterson’s interest and willingness to play in a pass-happy offense with limitless weapons at wide receiver.

Patterson is expected to decide by Dec. 20, which happens to be the first day of the early signing period. Early reports indicate that Michigan is the favorite, and his wish in potentially leaving is to find “stability at offensive coordinator” if he were to leave, according to ESPN.

If Oklahoma State does make a play for Patterson, I wouldn’t expect it to be a public pursuit. Spencer Sanders tells me he’s signing in the early period beginning on Dec. 20, and my expectation is that the staff will wait until the ink dries before they pursue any other quarterback to potentially add depth on the roster — whether that be on the transfer market or as a graduate transfer.

Patterson took over the starting job after the midway point as a freshman last season, and appeared in the first seven games of this season. He logged 3,139 passing yards and 153 rushing, and 23 total touchdowns.