Michigan Football: No, Shea Patterson not being named captain isn’t worrisome

Shea Patterson was not named one of Michigan football’s three captains heading into the 2019 season, but it’s not worrisome.

Usually captain selections don’t catch that much attention, but when the three named leaders don’t include the senior starting quarterback, it opens some eyes.

The quarterback position is expected to be fielded by the team’s best leader but Shea Patterson didn’t get the nod from his teammates when the captains were announced on Tuesday.

Carlo Kemp, Ben Bredeson and Khaleke Hudson were named the three captains in the midst of fall camp but there was a major uproar on social media from fans of the Wolverines and trolling from opposing fans about Patterson not being named one of the captains.

Josh Metellus and Patterson were named alternate captains by Jim Harbaugh which is likely a way for him to shield his quarterback from criticism from opposing fans and the media.

But is it even a big deal that he wasn’t named one of the three captains in the first place? Absolutely not.

Michigan fans know all too well how overblown a certain rival’s quarterback not being named captain was back in 2015. Connor Cook of Michigan State wasn’t named a team captain and the media hyped it up to be “his teammates don’t like him” but that wasn’t the case as the Spartans made the College Football Playoff.

Was that a big deal? No, but it was the subject of trolling from rival fans all season until it eventually proved to not matter.

Patterson also transferred into the program last year. What kinds of players can join a new program and immediately earn a captain role? You have to work on teammates and he was forced to try to accomplish something in 1-2 years it usually takes players 3-4 years to do.

So before you worry about Patterson not being named a captain, just remember that he’s new to the program and has plenty of respect and admiration from his teammates. But that won’t come without trolling from Spartan fans who remember how their quarterback was treated.