Ole Miss Football: 3 potential transfer options for Shea Patterson

With all the turmoil surrounding the Ole Miss football program after Hugh Freeze’s resignation, what are the three best transfer options for Shea Patterson?

Sophomore Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson got thrown into the fire earlier than expected in 2016. Former head coach Hugh Freeze intended on redshirting Patterson while Chad Kelly led the Rebel offense for the entire season. Yet, Patterson ended up playing in three games, throwing for 880 yards and six touchdowns in those games.

According to Rivals, the USC Trojans are pursuing Patterson for transfer to replace current quarterback Sam Darnold after the 2017 campaign. Darnold is expected to leave school early and enter the 2018 NFL Draft as possibly the first overall pick. A former five-star recruit like Patterson would be the perfect replacement that head coach Clay Helton and the Trojans are looking for.

Since Patterson would have to take one year off after transferring to another program, he would not be able to play immediately. Teams with quarterback situations like USC would be ideal for a quarterback like Patterson looking to win a conference or national championship very soon.

Eventually, Patterson himself could be a No. 1 overall pick. He has the potential to become one of the top quarterbacks in college football. Moreover, the firing of Freeze at Ole Miss prompted all of these transfer rumors. Since Freeze was fired and Ole Miss was put under such an intense NCAA investigation, the program seems to be on a Baylor-type downfall.

Recovering from fall outs like this can cause a program to go into a decade long slump. Ole Miss plays in a division in the SEC that poses the toughest challenge in the country most years. Losing out on the recruiting trail and even losing their current talent is not something that Ole Miss can afford in the present times.