Michigan Football: Shea Patterson’s eligibility adds pressure to Jim Harbaugh

Michigan football has been waiting all offseason to hear the news regarding Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson’s eligibility.

Jim Harbaugh took the head coaching job at Michigan with the hope of finding his quarterback and immediately having a successful reign in Ann Arbor. He fared well with Iowa transfer Jake Rudock in year one, but it’s been all downhill since.

Following Rudock, it’s been a combination of Wilton Speight (who has since transferred to UCLA), Brandon Peters and John O’Korn. It’s safe to say Michigan has been desperate for solid quarterback play under a head coach who has been dubbed a ‘quarterback whisperer’ by the experts.

Harbaugh jumped at an opportunity to upgrade the position immediately with Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson announcing his intention to transfer from the school. He was once a blue-chip prospect and arguably the biggest name on the transfer market and Michigan was able to reel him to Ann Arbor.

While there’s no guarantee he’s going to start on day one, especially with Peters playing hungry, Dylan McCaffrey showing potential and Joe Milton being an early enrollee, the battle for starting quarterback almost all but decided.

However, the Wolverines have been waiting all offseason for a ruling on Patterson’s immediate eligibility, and it has finally been handed down in the transfer’s favor, according to Josh Henschke from 247Sports.

This immediate eligibility ruling adds pressure on Harbaugh, though. You’d think it’d take some pressure off the head coach by adding an elite starting quarterback to the roster for 2018, but it’s just one less excuse to make if Michigan isn’t able to come away with a Big Ten title in Harbaugh’s fourth year.

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Although Harbaugh isn’t quite on the hot seat yet, it’ll definitely warm up if he’s unable to place higher than third in the Big Ten East for the fourth straight year, especially with Patterson eligible.