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Patterson merits attention
Unassuming senior moves inside on the defensive line
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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One member of the coaching staff says David Patterson will be a dominant player this year, but the question is: Will anyone outside the Ohio State film room know?
Such is the life of a defensive tackle, a position doomed to anonymity. But even judged by the low standards of his position, Patterson seems strangely publicity-proof.
Case in point: Last season against Michigan State, Patterson became only the 13 th OSU player ever to have a three-sack game. Yet in the postgame reports, it was Bobby Carpenter’s four sacks that drew all the attention.
"That kind of stuff doesn’t bother me," Patterson shrugs. "I just love playing football here. As long as I’m here, it doesn’t matter if anyone knows, as long as I know."
He means that too. It’s not a brave face. He’s a happy, unassuming sort.
"The guys on the team, I think they respect me," Patterson said.
They do. The senior is one of just two returning starters on defense for OSU, along with fellow tackle Quinn Pitcock.
He played as a true freshman in 2003 out of Warrensville Heights High School and has played in all but one of the Buckeyes’ 37 games the past three years.
Last year, Patterson played mostly at defensive end, even though he’s a natural tackle. That’s what the team needed.
"Dave is a lot more athletic than people would think," defensive end Jay Richardson said. "For an interior lineman, he’s got very good moves, he’s got really good agility for his size (6 feet 3, 285 pounds). He’s definitely a dual threat because he’s athletic enough to play end, (but) he’s also powerful enough to play inside."
This year, Patterson is moving back inside.
"I think he’s going to be a dominant football player," said Jim Heacock, the defensive coordinator and line coach. "I think with him and Quinn, we’ve got two of the best inside guys we’ve had here in a long time."
Pitcock jokes at Patterson’s penchant to be in the right place at the right time.
"He’s so flexible, he squirms around people and squeezes into the smallest little spaces and makes plays," Pitcock said. "I’m always joking around with him, like, ‘You just fell into that player, they ran into you,’ but he’s actually a great player who can use his body well."
Patterson grins and pleads guilty to Pitcock’s charge.
"I fall a lot," he said. "My first sack here was against Washington. I got the sack, but I kind of fell down and I got the sack. And then my second sack, I fell down again and got his legs and got the sack.
"So every time I get a tackle and I fall, they make a big deal out of it, like I always fall into tackles."
Despite Patterson’s relative obscurity, athletic, versatile defensive tackles can fall into a lot of money in the NFL. Consider two of Patterson’s former teammates taken in the 2004 draft — Darrion Scott (third round, Minnesota Vikings) and Tim Anderson (third, Buffalo Bills).
"They were two of the best guys I’ve ever seen inside, and they might not have gotten all the (publicity) everyone else got," Patterson said. "I’m not really looking for that. As long as I can just come out and have a good year this year and try to impress some people on the next level, that’s important."
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Saturday, April 01, 2006
OSU defensive tackle Patterson talks, plays good game
By Doug Harris
Staff Writer
Saturday, September 02, 2006
COLUMBUS — Being pitted in one-on-one drills with defensive tackle David Patterson wouldn't rate as Ohio State center Doug Datish's least favorite thing to do, but he'd probably rank it somewhere between sitting through a 24-hour chick-flick marathon and wrestling an anaconda.
"He's shifty. He's quick. He plays with great technique. And he's got crazy pass-rush moves," Datish said. "He's a pain in the butt. His motor doesn't stop."
But Patterson's internal engine isn't the only thing that never shuts down. When the 6-foot-3, 285-pound senior from northeast Ohio gets around his teammates, his gums tend to flap incessantly, too.
Patterson is likeable, outgoing and productive, which is why he was voted captain along with fellow lineman Quinn Pitcock, quarterback Troy Smith and Datish.
"David Patterson is a vocal guy," Pitcock said. "Everybody likes to hear him talk. I think he's a natural-born leader. He strives to be in that position and has fun with it. You can tell he wants to be a coach."
Patterson, who had four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss last season, knows the Buckeyes have a multitude of untested players and need their veterans to speak up.
"I just really try to convey my personality to the guys," said Patterson, who wants to be a high school history teacher and coach after giving the NFL a try. "Some guys say they can't believe how different I am off the field and on the field. Off the field, I just laugh and joke with the guys. But as soon as I get on the field, I'm all about business."
The Buckeyes have 18 seniors on the roster, yet all but Patterson are fifth-year players. He arrived as part of a 15-member recruiting class, but eight were dropped from the team for various transgressions.
Three ended up redshirting as freshmen, and another three departed on good terms — linebacker Anthony Schlegel, an Air Force transfer, going to the NFL after exhausting his eligibility, and defensive backs Ashton Youboty and Donte Whitner leaving early for the pros.
"Sometimes it's tough," Patterson said. "Me and Ashton were really close friends. He was my roommate for a year or two, and he's gone. Sometimes you want to go play Madden (video games) with someone. ... But I still have a lot of friends here. Pretty much anyone on the team can go hang out together."
And if Patterson is around, it usually becomes a talk-fest.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at [email protected].