The weekend has come and gone without a public commitment from any of the 3 Ole Miss football players that visited Michigan and witnessed the Michigan men's basketball team orchestrate a thrilling comeback OT win over UCLA. But, that doesn't mean there should be a dark cloud over the possibility of the 3 players, QB Shea Patterson, S Deontay Anderson, and WR Van Jefferson, being in the winged helmet next year. Below, I will update each player, plus the latest on the NCAA/legal battle over 2018 eligibility:
QB Shea Patterson:
UPDATE: Shea Patterson Will Transfer To Michigan
Ole Miss QB @SheaPatterson_1 on the field at Michigan Stadium (The Big House) tossing snowballs.
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) December 9, 2017
Video from @OVOTRAINERA’s snapchat pic.twitter.com/7CwpuVg2e3
A video posted on the Chat Sports Twitter account (from Anderson's Snapchat) on Saturday morning got the Michigan football world excited, but a pending commitment was a tad overzealous. Patterson didn't commit to Michigan over the weekend, but there is an expectation that he will ultimately end up in Ann Arbor, potentially making a commitment public in the next 36 hours.
Crisler Arena was a ruckus environment on Saturday, and Patterson was the biggest draw in the building. Chants of "We want Shea! We want Shea!" from the student section were present all night, and the star QB was visibly excited.
Patterson was joined on his trip by his parents, and was hosted by former IMG Academy teammate and current Michigan OL Caesar Ruiz. The word following his departure Sunday is that he communicated to the staff that he intends to be in January, but wanted to have a day to discuss everything with his parents, his older brother, and other trusted advisors.
We are told Michigan didn't make any promises of playing time, but did make it clear that the Michigan offense with him under center would be more shotgun based than the prior 3 years. Also, Patterson is well aware of the success Harbaugh had in the NFL running a true spread-option in 2012-14 with Colin Kaepernick, which included a Super Bowl appearance after the 2012 season.
Stick with us in the Chat Sports app or follow Michigan Wolverines by Chat Sports on Facebook to be the 1st to know when Patterson commits to Michigan.
Patterson further made things exciting for Michigan fans when he was photographed on Sunday donning a Michigan winged helmet.
Deontay Anderson
News broke early in the weekend when Anderson texted Rivals.com's Andrew Vailliencourt on Saturday about his plans regarding Michigan:
"Deontay Anderson just texted me and said he will be committing to Michigan once his transcript goes through," Andrew reported. "To be exactly clear, I asked him if the coaches will let him commit [Saturday], and he replied once the transcripts go through."
We aren't sure if that means that he might not qualify or be accepted as a student, but if he is, he will be in Ann Arbor in 3 weeks and be a starting safety in 2018.
Van Jefferson
There is less information available on Jefferson's trip, but we were told that his transcripts were being reviewed by Michigan and he has no interest in other programs at this time. If he is accepted as a Michigan student and Patterson comes to Michigan, we 100% expect Jefferson to be in a winged helmet next year.
Eligibility and legal battle
Several Ole Miss players, including Anderson, have retained the services of the lawyer who is representing former Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt in his lawsuit against the school. Attorney Thomas Mars has been in contact with Ole Miss, NCAA, and Michigan officials over the past several weeks regarding the eligibility of the 3 (and more) Ole Miss players planning to transfer, and hoping for instant eligibility. Typically, players would have to sit for 1 season if they transfer, but Mars is guiding the players in appealing that rule to the NCAA, claiming that the players were mislead in the recruiting process. The argument is that former coach Hugh Freeze knowingly lied to the players about potential infractions and blamed current and future (at the time) NCAA investigations regarding the program on Nutt.
Mars has made it clear to Mississippi and the NCAA that there will be a groundbreaking lawsuit to gain instant eligibility if the appeal is not granted. Follow me on Twitter @jamestyoder - THE Michigan Football Insider