All Sooners

Oklahoma's Top 20 recruiting what-ifs, No. 5: Chris Patterson

The 5-star linebacker was one of several high school All-Americans who signed with OU in the 2004 class, but he never played a down for the Sooners

John E. Hoover

Chris Patterson's bio in the 2004 OU media guide
Chris Patterson's bio in the 2004 OU media guide

Maybe coming from Chicago and playing football as well as he did simply produced too much hype around Chris Patterson.

The 5-star linebacker signed with Oklahoma as a member of the Sooners’ 2004 recruiting class, and Sooner Nation’s anticipation for his arrival was at a fever pitch.

Chris Patterson in 2007
Chris Patterson in 2007 / Kansas State Athletics

But other than a camp and a summer visit with his family to the Norman campus before his senior year, the high school All-American never got to OU — he never qualified academically — and spent two years at Joliet Junior College back home in Illinois before finishing his career with two years at Kansas State.

Patterson was billed as a 6-foot-3, 220-pound force of nature, but when he got to Manhattan, the Wildcats listed him at 6-1, 203.

Rivals listed him as the No. 15 player in the nation, while SuperPrep tabbed him as the No. 10 linebacker in the country. After making 106 tackles and 13 quarterback sacks in 2003, Patterson was a PrepStar Top 100, a Parade All-American and U.S. Army All-American — and played in the San Antonio all-star game with future Sooners Adrian Peterson, Rhett Bomar, Lendy Holmes and Marcus Walker.

Chris Patterson in 2007
Chris Patterson in 2007 / Kansas State Athletics

Patterson told Rivals in 2003 that he still had “some work to do in the classroom this year, but ... I know that I’m going to bust my butt and that I’m going to qualify.”

Patterson tried to get qualified twice more before settling in at Joliet — he had 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 2006 — and then eventually at K-State, where he fought through injuries and finished his college career with just 18 tackles during the 2007 season.

- - - - -

This series

National Signing Day is around the corner, so SI Sooners is examining Oklahoma’s biggest recruiting what-ifs of the last 20 years.

This is about players who arrived (or almost arrived) at Oklahoma but then, for whatever reason, left well before they reached their potential.

This is what college football recruiting is all about: the risk-reward that comes with not knowing a prospect's potential. For every Adrian Peterson, there's a Rhett Bomar. For every Tommie Harris, there's a Moe Dampeer.

The time period is since 2000, when online recruiting services and the current "star" system became prominent.

The rankings were compiled by SI Sooners publisher John Hoover, Sports Animal host Al Eschbach, KREF host James Hale and Sooner Spectator publisher Jay Upchurch.

- - - - -

How Hoover voted:

I ranked Chris Patterson at No. 4 in my top 20. That was my first year covering the Sooners as a beat writer, so I had extremely high expectations for Patterson, just as he probably did. His eligibility drama dragged out for what seemed like forever before he went the junior college route.

No. 5 on my list was 2008 wide receiver Josh Jarboe. You can read about Jarboe at the link on the list below.

- - - - -

Top 20 Oklahoma Recruiting What-Ifs

(since 2000)

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

Home/Football