Damoun Patterson: Man on a Mission
LATROBE 无毛视频� It came begrudgingly, but Mike Tomlin did admit that wide receiver Damoun Patterson 无毛视频渕ade some plays无毛视频� in the Steelers无毛视频� preseason opener.
Just don无毛视频檛 tell Tomlin that Patterson has had a good camp.
无毛视频淵OU said good camp,无毛视频� Tomlin repeated in correcting his post-game questioner.
It inferred that Tomlin did not say that, would not say that, WILL not say that.
After all, Patterson is a rookie.
But if there无毛视频檚 one rookie who won无毛视频檛 get a big head, it无毛视频檚 Patterson. He无毛视频檚 gone through way too much to ever worry about coachly semantics. Just consider his odyssey:
n Born in Apopka, Florida, near Orlando, Patterson, one of nine children, spent much of his childhood seeking shelter.
无毛视频淲e went from hotel to hotel, moving every year,无毛视频� said Patterson. 无毛视频淚 never stayed in the same school district. I was either staying with family, staying with my mom. Then my junior year I stayed with family a little bit. When it was time to graduate I stayed with friends until I graduated high school.无毛视频�
He was homeless. After two years at Edgewater High, Patterson graduated from Wekiva High. But recruiters weren无毛视频檛 banging on his door.
n Utah State showed interest, but Patterson didn无毛视频檛 have the grades and enrolled in a prep school in New Mexico.
New Mexico?
无毛视频淥ne of my high school teammates found out about it and told me,无毛视频� Patterson said. 无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 have no other options, so I decided to go there.无毛视频�
n Patterson remained in touch with the receivers coach at Utah State and sent film from prep school. He was told he could walk on in 2014.
Patterson started three games, caught two passes, made six tackles on special teams, but at the end of the season was asked to attend a junior college to get his academics in order.
n Back to Florida, Patterson survived by his wits, sometimes living in his car, until he heard from one of his prep-school teammates that Highland Junior College in Kansas had a scholarship available. So he was off to the northeast tip of Kansas, bordering Nebraska, and caught 25 passes for 437 yards, an average of 17.5 yards per catch.
n Youngstown State, possibly through coach Bo Pelini无毛视频檚 network in Nebraska, heard of Patterson and the receiver finally was awarded a scholarship. At long last, someone really wanted Damoun Patterson.
无毛视频淚 loved it,无毛视频� he said of Youngstown, Ohio. 无毛视频淚 loved playing for Bo Pelini. It无毛视频檚 similar to this area. Not too much difference. And I came right down the road, 45 minutes away from Pittsburgh.无毛视频�
At YSU, Patterson didn无毛视频檛 catch as many balls as his current camp production might indicate. In two seasons at YSU, he caught 52 passes for 1,039 yards (20.0 ypc) and six touchdowns.
Did Pelini run the triple option or something?
无毛视频淣ah,无毛视频� Patterson said. 无毛视频淲e just fed our running back the pill a whole lot.无毛视频�
Patterson also in those two seasons made 17 special teams tackles, an important skill for someone trying to make an NFL team as a fifth or sixth reciever.
无毛视频淚 love special teams,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淕unner and kickoff, I love it man. I love going down there. You get to show more speed and you don无毛视频檛 have to worry about a ball or adjusting to a ball.无毛视频�
Still, it didn无毛视频檛 add up to a 无毛视频淲无毛视频� for Patterson, who wasn无毛视频檛 drafted, nor was he signed until the draft was two weeks old. That, he said, may have been due to the media reporting he had signed with the Atlanta Falcons immediately after the draft.
But the deal had never been consummated. It was yet another shattered dream for an athlete who in second grade wrote an essay about one day playing for the Falcons, his favorite team.
无毛视频淢y grandma still has it,无毛视频� Patterson said of the essay. 无毛视频淚 was going to put it out if it did go through, but things didn无毛视频檛 work out.无毛视频�
Patterson still refused to quit. His agent arranged for him to attend the Steelers无毛视频� rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. And, he made it. Patterson was wanted once again.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know how to give up,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 just keep going.无毛视频�
Patterson spent the rest of the spring working with the Steelers, but didn无毛视频檛 stand out until the pads came on here at Saint Vincent College. Timed at 4.50 at his pro day, Patterson has routinely looked faster in getting behind the Steelers无毛视频� secondary.
无毛视频淢an, don无毛视频檛 believe it,无毛视频� he said of the 40 time listed under his name at NFLDraftScout.com. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 way faster than that. That was at pro day. When I was doing my pro day training I got down in the 4.3s. 无毛视频� I无毛视频檓 not sure how accurate any of those numbers are.无毛视频�
The site also lists the 6-陆, 192-pounder as having a vertical jump of 32陆 inches. But, Patterson appeared to clear that number easily with an eye-popping backflip after his eye-popping touchdown catch in last Thursday无毛视频檚 preseason win.
Patterson snared a 29-yard laser from Joshua Dobbs for the score with 18 seconds left in the first half after beating Rasul Douglas on a post to the end zone. The backflip was unplanned.
无毛视频淗e made a heck of a catch,无毛视频� said Dobbs. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 been doing that all camp, so I have a lot of trust in him. Before the game, this was his first game, so I was just telling him to take it one play at a time, and I无毛视频檓 coming to you so be ready when the ball is thrown. And he definitely was. He made a great play in the back of the end zone.无毛视频�
Dobbs provided the following report on the 23-year-old from Apopka:
无毛视频淕ood consistency. That无毛视频檚 what he无毛视频檚 been doing throughout camp. He consistently runs by guys. He无毛视频檚 quick in and out of his breaks. Makes the contested catch. That无毛视频檚 what he无毛视频檚 able to take to the field. It was cool to see that, especially from a quarterback, to grow that chemistry and that connection from OTAs, to see him take it on to the field once game day came. Hopefully, he无毛视频檒l continue to grow throughout the preseason.无毛视频�
Patterson has passed every test, but the next will be playing against an NFL defense that knows he无毛视频檚 coming, that No. 83 isn无毛视频檛 just Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 camp fodder.
That无毛视频檚 how his signing appeared to be intended, but with two small kids and a third on the way, Patterson has good reason to make it in professional football.
无毛视频淚 talk about my kids all the time. That无毛视频檚 a big thing for me,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a whole lotta want-to in there. It无毛视频檚 a reason why.无毛视频�
It无毛视频檚 the reason behind an odyssey that无毛视频檚 included enough setbacks to make most mortals call it quits.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 on a mission,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a man on a mission, so I didn无毛视频檛 really think too much about those setbacks. They were just reasons for me to grow.无毛视频�