Ole Miss Rebels: Shea Patterson is the future of the SEC

There are 48 days till college football season, and today we talk about a guy who could be the future of SEC quarterbacks.

For the first time since 2013, quarterback play in the SEC is going to be a strength of the conference. The Ole Miss Rebels are one of three teams in the SEC that lost their starting quarterback from last season, but they’re also expected to have one of the most dynamic signal-callers in the conference this season.

And that leads us to no. 48 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.

Ole Miss’ Shea Patterson had 48 passing attempts against Mississippi State last season

Must Read: Missouri near the bottom of the SEC

Shea Patterson came to Ole Miss as the no. 1 ranked quarterback in the country according to 247sports’ composite rankings, ahead of Georgia’s Jacob Eason. He entered last season as Chad Kelly‘s backup, but after a knee injury forced Kelly to miss the final three games of the regular season, Patterson took over.

In his first career start, Patterson led the Rebels to a 29-28 upset of no. 8 Texas A&M, and the Johnny Manziel comparisons began.

Unfortunately, Ole Miss dropped the final two games of the season to finish 5-7, including a 55-20 shellacking from their in-state rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

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But Patterson showed what he was capable of. Against the Bulldogs, he went 27-for-48 for 320 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran 13 times for 73 yards, including a long of 29 yards.

His 48 passing attempts were the fourth most in the SEC last season. Kelly had the most with 59 attempts against Auburn, and fellow five-star freshman, Eason attempted 55 passes against Missouri. Drew Lock attempted 51 passes against West Virginia. Eason was the only one who won the game with 50+ passing attempts.

In three games as a starter, Patterson totaled 880 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and completed 54.5 percent of his passes. He also 169 rushing yards.

If Shea Patterson can be the five-star quarterback that he was projected to be out of high school, things could be looking up in Oxford, Miss., a place that is desperate for some good news.