TCU offers Arizona QB commit

Shea Patterson has offers from some great programs, but unlike many recruits these days, don't expect him to flip back and forth before making a final commitment.

Patterson, a 2016 dual-threat quarterback from Shreveport, La., is committed to Arizona, but has offers from Akron, Clemson, Louisiana Tech and TCU. Patterson is going to consider all of his options, but his father said that he doesn't want his son making any knee-jerk reactions.

"Not too high, not too low," Sean Patterson said of how he wants his son to handle the recruitment process. He said that he just wants his son to enjoy high school and not get wrapped up in flipping back and forth between schools.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound sophomore certainly enjoyed this season. He led the Calvary Baptist Academy Cavaliers to a Louisiana Division III state championship. He threw 34 touchdown passes against only four interceptions and completed more than 61 percent of his passes, according to maxpreps.com. He was also second on the team in rushing yards and scored three times on the ground.

Patterson's family moved to Shreveport from Hidalgo, Texas, in 2013 after Sean was transferred there for work. Shea had already committed to Arizona as a freshman. His father said they decided on the Wildcats because they thought it might be the best offer they would get.

"We were down in south Texas. Recruiting doesn't really happen down there," he said.

It also helped that Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez made a strong pitch to get Patterson's commitment. The coach clearly wanted the athletic quarterback in his spread offense.

"We got a great offer," Sean said. "Coach Rodriguez had a never offered a freshman quarterback before. And then [Shea] went on his official visit and they kind of blew him away."

Other schools have started taking notice following Patterson's stellar sophomore season, which came against tougher competition than there was in south Texas. That could be what caught TCU's attention, which offered the quarterback once the dead period ended.

"It was pretty exciting to get the TCU offer," Sean said. "That's a great institution."

The company Sean works for is based out of Dallas, and he said his family heard great things about the school during their time in the state. He called TCU's Gary Patterson a great coach.

"And he has a great name," he said with a laugh.

TCU offensive coordinator Doug Meacham knew of Patterson from his year coaching at Houston, which was one of the only schools that showed the quarterback interest before this season. Now that Meacham is bringing his scheme to Fort Worth, he'd like Patterson to join him.

The quarterback comes from a family of athletes. His grandfather, George Patterson, played in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons in the late 1960s. Sean played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Defiance College in Ohio.

His brother, named Sean after their father, played quarterback at Duquense from 2008 to 2012, and is now working toward being a college football coach. His sisters, Abby and Kacie, played softball at Texas A&M-Kingsville and volleyball at Oklahoma Panhandle State, respectively.

The result of having so many athletes in the family is that the Pattersons know how the recruiting process goes, so they're able to handle it calmly. They won't be flipping back and forth. They won't get too high. They won't get too low. And that's just how dad wants it. If Shea does change his mind, it will be a careful, well thought out decision.

"After the summer of his junior year, then we'll take another look," Sean said. "And if he wants to change, that's fine. But there's no pressure."