Film Don't Lie: Jarrett Patterson
Notre Dame needed to land at least one more offensive lineman in this class and they did really well to add someone as good as Jarrett Patterson. The 4-star recruit out of Mission Viejo (California) is a very good athlete that I think can play multiple positions on the line at the next level.
Usually a late offer to a prospect means they are under the radar or someone that is “Plan B” recruit. I don’t see that way at all with Patterson. I think he is the top O-line prospect they are bringing in with the 2018 class. Notre Dame fans should be very excited about this pickup.
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 285
Projected Position: Swing candidate that can play multiple positions on the O-line
ISD Grade: 91 (4 star)
National Average Grade: 90.6 (4 star)
What he does best:
There are many things to like about Patterson’s game. The fact that he has some nasty in it is one, but he does many things really well. That’s probably because he already plays in an offense that asks him to make the same kind of blocks he’ll be making for the Irish.
There are plenty of examples of him finishing blocks down the field. I love seeing this where he puts a rusher who is jumping to knock down a pass on his back.
As a lot of offensive linemen will tell you, pass does not mean passive. Patterson is not a passive player in any sense of the word. If he gets a chance to take a shot at an engaged rusher when he’s not assigned to block anyone, he is going to take it. He’s an attacking player.
Here you see him attack at the second level where he does a great job of locking up and finishing a linebacker.
He is a very mobile and that’s one reason why I believe he can play at any spot on the line. I see a great athlete for the position that can pull, block linebackers in space, and even get out to lead on screens.
Patterson has really good feet. I often judge the feet and the athleticism of an offensive lineman by how natural they look when having to step and reach a defensive lineman. Look at him step inside the end on this play and flip his hips to get in a good position. That and the hand placement that helps him turn the end here is extremely impressive.
There are a lot of clips of him performing every kind of block that will be asked of him at Notre Dame. Blocks like him working off a double team to scrape and get a linebacker. That might seem routine at the college level, but it’s less so for most high school kids.
He’s not someone that will come in knowing only how to crush a defender on a down block. He’s advanced in pass protection as well. Again it comes back to his feet, but his balance is impressive too.
I’m not sure if it looks this good all the time, but he did a great job handling one of the best pass edge rushers in the 2019 class when he went up against Mater Dei’s Bru McCoy. This a twitchy player that he is matched up with and Patterson handled his speed very well.
He looks to me like he has been coached well at Mission Viejo. That should definitely help him have a leg up when he gets to Notre Dame.
What he needs to improve:
We have him listed at 285 pounds, but I have seen him in the 260s and in between in other places. He looks to me like he is closer to the 270 range and he is going to need some time to develop physically.
That leads into the next thing he needs to improve as well. He needs to be stronger at the point of attack. He is moving people of the ball when he is part of a double team, but isn’t doing the same as consistently when he is one on one.
I see a lot of great things with him in terms of his hand placement and his footwork that I mentioned before, but there are times when little things like getting his head across on a block don’t happen. It might sound nitpicky, but that kind of thing can be the difference between making a block and his man making a tackle at the next level.
What’s his ceiling?
I’m a big fan of Patterson. I think it will take some time for him to be physically ready to compete at a high level for the Irish, but when that time comes, I think he has the chance to be either a valuable utility player on the line that can play multiple positions or a very good starter.
His feet are good enough that he can play tackle. His best fit might be at guard or center, though. With the way Notre Dame’s running game uses so much pin and pull, an athlete like Patterson can develop into a very valuable player.
I think he’s a very similar prospect to Robert Hainsey, who also could end up playing different spots on the line before his Notre Dame career is over. I wouldn’t expect Patterson to see the field as early as Hainsey did. He’ll likely have to redshirt, but after that he could very well be on his way to being someone who sees the field in 2019 before eventually becoming a starting player where they feel the line needs him the most.