Damoun Patterson: Man on a Mission
LATROBE 鈥� It came begrudgingly, but Mike Tomlin did admit that wide receiver Damoun Patterson 鈥渕ade some plays鈥� in the Steelers鈥� preseason opener.
Just don鈥檛 tell Tomlin that Patterson has had a good camp.
鈥淵OU said good camp,鈥� Tomlin repeated in correcting his post-game questioner.
It inferred that Tomlin did not say that, would not say that, WILL not say that.
After all, Patterson is a rookie.
But if there鈥檚 one rookie who won鈥檛 get a big head, it鈥檚 Patterson. He鈥檚 gone through way too much to ever worry about coachly semantics. Just consider his odyssey:
n Born in Apopka, Florida, near Orlando, Patterson, one of nine children, spent much of his childhood seeking shelter.
鈥淲e went from hotel to hotel, moving every year,鈥� said Patterson. 鈥淚 never stayed in the same school district. I was either staying with family, staying with my mom. Then my junior year I stayed with family a little bit. When it was time to graduate I stayed with friends until I graduated high school.鈥�
He was homeless. After two years at Edgewater High, Patterson graduated from Wekiva High. But recruiters weren鈥檛 banging on his door.
n Utah State showed interest, but Patterson didn鈥檛 have the grades and enrolled in a prep school in New Mexico.
New Mexico?
鈥淥ne of my high school teammates found out about it and told me,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have no other options, so I decided to go there.鈥�
n Patterson remained in touch with the receivers coach at Utah State and sent film from prep school. He was told he could walk on in 2014.
Patterson started three games, caught two passes, made six tackles on special teams, but at the end of the season was asked to attend a junior college to get his academics in order.
n Back to Florida, Patterson survived by his wits, sometimes living in his car, until he heard from one of his prep-school teammates that Highland Junior College in Kansas had a scholarship available. So he was off to the northeast tip of Kansas, bordering Nebraska, and caught 25 passes for 437 yards, an average of 17.5 yards per catch.
n Youngstown State, possibly through coach Bo Pelini鈥檚 network in Nebraska, heard of Patterson and the receiver finally was awarded a scholarship. At long last, someone really wanted Damoun Patterson.
鈥淚 loved it,鈥� he said of Youngstown, Ohio. 鈥淚 loved playing for Bo Pelini. It鈥檚 similar to this area. Not too much difference. And I came right down the road, 45 minutes away from Pittsburgh.鈥�
At YSU, Patterson didn鈥檛 catch as many balls as his current camp production might indicate. In two seasons at YSU, he caught 52 passes for 1,039 yards (20.0 ypc) and six touchdowns.
Did Pelini run the triple option or something?
鈥淣ah,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淲e just fed our running back the pill a whole lot.鈥�
Patterson also in those two seasons made 17 special teams tackles, an important skill for someone trying to make an NFL team as a fifth or sixth reciever.
鈥淚 love special teams,鈥� he said. 鈥淕unner and kickoff, I love it man. I love going down there. You get to show more speed and you don鈥檛 have to worry about a ball or adjusting to a ball.鈥�
Still, it didn鈥檛 add up to a 鈥淲鈥� for Patterson, who wasn鈥檛 drafted, nor was he signed until the draft was two weeks old. That, he said, may have been due to the media reporting he had signed with the Atlanta Falcons immediately after the draft.
But the deal had never been consummated. It was yet another shattered dream for an athlete who in second grade wrote an essay about one day playing for the Falcons, his favorite team.
鈥淢y grandma still has it,鈥� Patterson said of the essay. 鈥淚 was going to put it out if it did go through, but things didn鈥檛 work out.鈥�
Patterson still refused to quit. His agent arranged for him to attend the Steelers鈥� rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. And, he made it. Patterson was wanted once again.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to give up,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just keep going.鈥�
Patterson spent the rest of the spring working with the Steelers, but didn鈥檛 stand out until the pads came on here at Saint Vincent College. Timed at 4.50 at his pro day, Patterson has routinely looked faster in getting behind the Steelers鈥� secondary.
鈥淢an, don鈥檛 believe it,鈥� he said of the 40 time listed under his name at NFLDraftScout.com. 鈥淚鈥檓 way faster than that. That was at pro day. When I was doing my pro day training I got down in the 4.3s. 鈥� I鈥檓 not sure how accurate any of those numbers are.鈥�
The site also lists the 6-陆, 192-pounder as having a vertical jump of 32陆 inches. But, Patterson appeared to clear that number easily with an eye-popping backflip after his eye-popping touchdown catch in last Thursday鈥檚 preseason win.
Patterson snared a 29-yard laser from Joshua Dobbs for the score with 18 seconds left in the first half after beating Rasul Douglas on a post to the end zone. The backflip was unplanned.
鈥淗e made a heck of a catch,鈥� said Dobbs. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been doing that all camp, so I have a lot of trust in him. Before the game, this was his first game, so I was just telling him to take it one play at a time, and I鈥檓 coming to you so be ready when the ball is thrown. And he definitely was. He made a great play in the back of the end zone.鈥�
Dobbs provided the following report on the 23-year-old from Apopka:
鈥淕ood consistency. That鈥檚 what he鈥檚 been doing throughout camp. He consistently runs by guys. He鈥檚 quick in and out of his breaks. Makes the contested catch. That鈥檚 what he鈥檚 able to take to the field. It was cool to see that, especially from a quarterback, to grow that chemistry and that connection from OTAs, to see him take it on to the field once game day came. Hopefully, he鈥檒l continue to grow throughout the preseason.鈥�
Patterson has passed every test, but the next will be playing against an NFL defense that knows he鈥檚 coming, that No. 83 isn鈥檛 just Pittsburgh鈥檚 camp fodder.
That鈥檚 how his signing appeared to be intended, but with two small kids and a third on the way, Patterson has good reason to make it in professional football.
鈥淚 talk about my kids all the time. That鈥檚 a big thing for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole lotta want-to in there. It鈥檚 a reason why.鈥�
It鈥檚 the reason behind an odyssey that鈥檚 included enough setbacks to make most mortals call it quits.
鈥淚鈥檓 on a mission,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a man on a mission, so I didn鈥檛 really think too much about those setbacks. They were just reasons for me to grow.鈥�