Patterson is a 6'3, 190 pound wide receiver for Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, KS and is originally from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, SC. Despite being a 2009 recruit coming out of high school, this is Patterson's freshman season at Hutchinson. He spent the 2009 season at the beleaguered North Carolina Prep Tech, a post-graduate program.
I had the opportunity to see Patterson play his final high school game vs. arch-rival South Pointe in the class AAAA Division II state championship. Patterson more than held his own against a South Pointe squad that ended the season ranked as high as number two in the country and featured current University of South Carolina starters Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman as well as a sophomore Jadeveon Clowney, who is currently the consensus number one player in the nation for the class of 2011. Patterson made one of the more impressive plays of the game when he leaped over Holloman, who was in good position to make a play, snagging a fade pass from Justin Worley for a touchdown.
People around Northwestern, and Rock Hill in general, rave about Patterson's talent, with some even claiming that he is one of the better athletes to come out of York County in recent memory (called "a dunking machine" in basketball and also ran track).
Patterson has been just as impressive this season at Hutchinson and through four games has 18 catches for 334 yards (18.5 yard average) and four touchdowns and three kickoff returns for 137 yards and one touchdown.
Last January, I came across some clips of Patterson in action his senior year of high school and made this brief highlight video.
Not to get ahead of myself, but doesn't he kind of look like a Vikings-era Randy Moss with the number 84 purple and gold jersey and long stride? All hyperbolic comparisons aside, as you can see above, he's pretty talented. To add to his high level of overall athleticism, he's long, rangy, explosive (reportedly runs in the 4.3 range), and has great ball skills (particularly tracking the ball in the air). And he's still raw as a wide receiver. There's really not much to dislike here.
Given his post-graduate year, I'm not sure where Patterson stands academically as far as when he'll be eligible to enroll at a four-year school. Regardless, I'd rank him as the top JUCO wide receiver prospect regardless of class. If he ends up as a class of 2012 prospect, I'd expect for him to make a strong case for the top JUCO prospect in that cycle.
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