Michigan football will reportedly have to wait for the NCAA’s decision on Shea Patterson. According to his attorney, it won’t be made until March or April.
At this point, you are probably a little sick of the saga with Shea Patterson and Michigan football. Saga might not be the right word, but at this point, Wolverines fans just want to know if he can play in 2018 or not?
Well, according to a report by CBS Sports on Thursday, Michigan football fans will have to wait at least another month or two before finding out anything. In a story written by David Dodd at CBS, Dodd cites Patterson’s lawyer, Tom Mars, who said the NCAA should come to a decision in either March or April.
In his interview with CBS, Mars, an attorney from Arkansas, said essentially, that it was an open and shut case and that that player should be granted eligibility telling CBS: “It’s an open and shut case is what happened.”
What makes Mars and the Ole Miss players he is defending, more believable is the evidence they possess. In the story posted by CBS, there are screen shots of multiple conversations between different Ole Miss players, as well as with former head coach Hugh Freeze.
The result isn’t a good look for Freeze or the Ole Miss program. In fact, it basically proves they misled recruits, which is exactly what Patterson and the others are contending.
Michigan Wolverines Football
All along, Patterson and the other players leaving Ole Miss have claimed they were misled. Now, the text messages seem to back that up. The players were being told one thing, while the exact opposite was true.
That’s good news for Michigan football fans. If Mars is correct and he has experience in these matters, Patterson should be granted immediate eligibility. If not, Michigan will have to wait until 2019 to see its prized quarterback on the field.
However, the good news is, that either way, there will be a resolution to this in the coming months. Hopefully, the decision will come in time for spring practice, so UM can prepare accordingly.
Regardless, the end is coming soon. And before long, the only talk surrounding Patterson will be talk of what he’s doing on the field, instead of what’s happening off of it.
That will be a nice change for Michigan fans, who more than anything else, just want to see their team succeed. Patterson seems like the missing piece, so it will be nice to finally see what he can do.
Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time
If he can’t play, Michigan football has other options. But right now, it’s looking more and more like Ole Miss was in the wrong, which means Patterson and his former teammates, should be able to resume their careers right away.