Michigan Football: Shea Patterson can improve just like Jake Rudock

Shea Patterson struggled in his first start for Michigan football just like Jake Rudock did. Yet, Rudock improved and Patterson can too.

There were a lot of disappointing things about Michigan football in its 24-17 loss to Notre Dame, yet one of the biggest disappointments was the play of Shea Patterson.

Certainly, Patterson did some good things and his debut as the starting quarterback of Michigan football wasn’t all bad. He completed 22-of-30 passes for 227 yards. However, he threw zero touchdown passes, had one interception and lost a fumble. He also took a bad sack that cost Michigan a chance at a field goal and was stopped on fourth down a couple of times.

Of course, he doesn’t take all the blame. But he was brought in to fix a lot of that, to make sure the team was better in the red zone and on third downs and Saturday night in South Bend, neither area was better.

Using just the eye test, Patterson was much better than John O’Korn or Brandon Peters. He throws the football accurately, throws well on the run and seems to have a good deep ball, although the coaching staff seemed hesitant to let him push the ball down the field.

Obviously, we need to keep in mind it was Patterson’s first start. He was playing on a new team, in a new system with his new teammates for the first time. Yes, he has played in scrimmages but there is no simulation for the real thing and his first outing will hopefully be a learning experience.

A lot of Michigan football fans are disappointed with how the team played Saturday. Some are saying Dylan McCaffrey should have played more, others are saying Jim Harbaugh still doesn’t know how to develop a quarterback.

Rationally, I don’t think either of those things is true. McCaffrey did look solid and got into a rhythm last night. Maybe he deserved to finish that drive and keep going, but he’s not better than Patterson. At least he hasn’t proved it yet. And it’s too early to say Harbaugh has failed with Patterson.

Jake Rudock, when he became the starter in 2015, opened his Michigan football career with two touchdowns and three interceptions against Utah. A lot of people wanted a different starter then too but Harbaugh stuck with Rudock, who went 10-2 in the last 12 games, throwing 18 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

Rudock actually played so well that season he got drafted by the Detroit Lions. Patterson could easily have a similar turnaround. He will get more familiar in the offense and hopefully, the coaches will call more aggressive plays for him. Patterson isn’t O’Korn or Peters and therefore, the play calling should reflect that.

The start was not good, there is no question about that. But Patterson has plenty of time to turn things around and just like Rudock, I think he will.