Red Zone Threat

Jamal Patterson has been busy visiting schools and he's already been to Stanford, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Clemson. "I'm also planning on visiting Notre Dame and West Virginia soon," Patterson said. "Notre Dame is a great place. The tradition and prestige is the best. It's like an honor to go there. Just getting an offer from them means a lot." Patterson denies any favorites.

Jamal Patterson, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound four-star wide receiver from Henry County High School in McDonough, Ga., finished his junior season with 44 catches for 933 yards and 11 touchdowns. He helped lead his team to a 10-2 record and the 3A regional championship. Henry County High lost in the second round of the state championship.

"I have good power and can run through the middle," Patterson said. "I can catch the ball in the middle and I have a great vertical jump (38-inches). I'm tall and am a great red zone threat. I'm a total package wide receiver."

The self-described "total package" also admits he'd like to improve his quickness. "I want to get quicker off the line and I'm always working on my footwork," he said.

Patterson, Scout.com's No. 14 wide receiver, says he has over 50 scholarship offers but continues to deny any favorites. "I have yet to choose any favorites," Patterson flatly stated. He did say he expects to announce his decision on January 3 at the Under Armour All-American game.

"The things I'll be looking for are a good education, a chance to play early and good coaches," he said. "I want to be an immediate impact and I want the coaches to be like family to me."

Another big factor in Patterson's decision will be their track program. "I definitely want to run track," he said. "I love to compete and it helps me with football."

Patterson competes in the 110m (14.5) and the 300m hurdles (38.19).

Patterson followed Georgia as a youngster, but says he's not considering the Bulldogs. Curiously, Georgia isn't even one of Patterson's 50 offers. "I think it's a numbers thing," he said. "They may not need someone like me, but I don't think they have too many offers to give.

"Living in Georgia you just kind of automatically follow them," Patterson said.

In-state rival Georgia Tech on the other hand has offered Patterson and his father received his masters from Tech.

Earlier this month Patterson attended a camp at Kentucky and he says he won't attend any other camps this summer. "Kentucky was great," he said.

"I liked the campus a lot and it's seems like a great place," he said. "Lexington is a nice city and their facilities were real good too. I also really like (offensive coordinator) coach Joker Phillips."

Patterson has been busy visiting schools and he's already been to Stanford, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Clemson. "I'm also planning on visiting Notre Dame and West Virginia soon," he said.

"Notre Dame is a great place," he said. "The tradition and prestige is the best. It's like an honor to go there. Just getting an offer from them means a lot."

Although the Mountaineers don't have that Irish history, Patterson likes their recent success. "They've been winning a lot lately," he said. "I like their offense and they are going to need some more receivers."

Patterson says that he's also gotten to know quarterback Tajh Boyd (Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va.), who is already committed to the Mountaineers. "We started talking a lot and he really wants me to go there and play with him," he said. "He's a great quarterback, so that would be a good situation to be in."

Just last week Patterson took a trip out west to Stanford. "I really liked Stanford," he said. "It's a beautiful campus and the academics are top of the line.

"That was my first time in California and it was even better than I expected," he said. "I loved it. It seemed like a great place to live, plus I think the program is turning around. I really liked coach Jim Harbaugh and his enthusiasm. I see him doing big things there."

Patterson's former teammate and fellow wide receiver Chris Jackson just signed with Alabama in February and Patterson says he's also interested in the Tide. "He loves it there," he said. "He says they are working really hard and I think that Alabama is back on the way up. It's a great atmosphere there."

Patterson is also looking at in-state rival, Auburn. "I'm really interested in the new spread offense they are going to be running," he said. "They're going to be passing the ball a lot more and it would be a good opportunity to play early."

According to Patterson, all of the schools mentioned above have offered as well as LSU, Florida State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Michigan, UCF, Minnesota, East Carolina, South Florida and several others.

Patterson plans to major in psychology and is a stellar student. He reports a 4.5 core GPA (with several honors/advanced placement classes) and a 23 ACT.