Pat Patterson, the 6-foot-2, 206-pound three-star wide receiver from Noxubee County High School in Macon, Miss., is a man of few words and a new scholarship offer.
Tennessee is a late offer for Patterson and he plans to visit the Vols on Jan. 30, right before Letter-of-Intent Day (Feb. 4). "I like coach Lane Kiffin," Patterson said. "He's a good coach but I haven't sat down and talked with him or nothing.
"But he seems like a nice guy and I like the type of offense he's gonna run," he said. "He has some great experience, but I was pretty surprised they hired him. I didn't know who they'd get."
As surprised as Patterson was with the Lane Kiffin hire, he admits that Auburn's recent announcement truly shocked him. "Honestly, I don't really know who he is," he said of new Tigers coach Gene Chizik.
"I was real surprised they hired him," Patterson said. "I haven't talked to him yet, but I like Auburn so I need to learn more about him and see what his plans are."
Patterson, ranked as the No. 45 wide receiver in the country by Scout.com, is scheduled to visit the Tigers on Jan. 9.
Following his visit to Auburn, Patterson will be tripping to Southern Miss on Jan. 16. "I like the offense they run," he said. "They pass the ball a lot and said that I'd be able to play early. I think they are up-and-coming."
The school that is recruiting him the hardest however is Ole Miss. "They call a lot and I had (running back) coach Derrick Nix at my house on Sunday (Dec. 14).
"Coach Nix is a great guy," he said. "He said that I'd have a good chance to play early. I like Ole Miss. They really impressed me this season and I think they are still getting better."
Although he now denies a leader, Patterson says he has narrowed it down to Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Auburn and Tennessee.
LSU and Alabama were previously in Patterson's top five as late as early December, but he admits that they are no longer recruiting him. "I haven't really been hearing from them anymore," he said.
"I want to take my four visits for sure," he said. "I probably won't commit until close to signing day.
"I'll be looking at everything," he said of his criteria. "Even the little things like the campus and dorms rooms are gonna matter."
Noxubee County won the 4A state championship (14-0) and Patterson finished with an impressive 77 receptions for 1,387 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Patterson reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 16 ACT, which he will retake in February.