VolQuest.com - Patterson's growth

September 6, 2012

Brent Hubbs
VolQuest.com Editor

After Cordarrelle Patterson's high octane debut last Friday night in the orange and white, the junior college transfer has seen his picture and name in the media spotlight around the country.

And why not, two touchdowns, 6 catches and 165 total yards in your college debut is not the norm. It might not be common place but it wasn't shocking either according to offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.

"When he took that reverse I have to admit it was pretty fun, I was thinking about those snowy days in Hutchinson, Kansas and it wasn't so bad being there those days. I don't know that I was shocked by his production? Not really because he is a super talented kid," Chaney said.

A super talented player who didn't have a catch in the second half in part because of how NC State adjusted to the new comer and in part because Patterson is just that, a new comer.

"There were a couple of times where he should have gotten the ball and he didn't run the most perfect route in the right situation," receivers coach Darin Hinshaw said. "They did roll the coverage to his side some and Justin ended up catching a lot of balls in the second half. That's going to happen. I tell them every game guys you don't know when it's going to happen. It could happen in the first quarter. It could be in the third quarter or the fourth quarter. You may only catch two balls and in the fourth quarter you might catch nine. You just never know when it's going to be your time. You have to be ready for it."

This week Patterson faces a learning curve in preparation for his second game. It's a learning curve that Hinshaw said Patterson and all the receivers will face each week.

"He (Patterson) can run the whole offense. He understands it. Now there are times where I have to remind him. I have to remind him sometimes of things during practice. The other thing is that we are going to see different defenses that we haven't seen. So there is a learning curve that occurs every week. The idea is that Sunday through Wednesday we are learning that curve then Thursday we are polishing it to get ready for Saturday," Hinshaw said.

KNOCKING OFF THE RUST

Because of Patterson's two big plays, it's thought that junior receiver Justin Hunter had a bad day. Hunter had 9 catches for 73 yards, but also had a couple of uncharacteristic drops. The Virginia native's play came as no surprise to Chaney.

"He played about the way I thought he would play. He would make some big plays and have a few blunders out there," Chaney offered. "In a lot of ways, I thought it was like the first game he had played at Tennessee all over again because of the rust coming off the knee I kind of expected it from him. I thought he made some nice beautiful plays and some where you said, 'come on J-Hunt, you make that play every time'. Our expectations for him are through the roof and his expectations for himself are as well. I look forward to him raising his game and playing really special football for us."

SPREADING THE WEALTH

The Vols passing game saw 10 different players catch passes on a 333 yard day on 27 completions. Both Hinshaw and Chaney credited quarterback Tyler Bray for the production.

"I think he played very well. As Tyler would tell you he missed a few things, but he threw the ball down the field as accurate as he ever has I believe. His command of the game and his leadership was pretty dog-gone good. I don't know if it was his best (game), but I thought he played really well.

"We knew they were a zone coverage team and we needed to check the ball down and threw it where it needed to be. He did a pretty good job of that during the day."

Added Hinshaw, "I give a lot of credit to Tyler Bray and his understanding that defenses are adjusting throughout the game. We hit a bunch of long balls. They started playing their coverage a little bit deeper so he started hitting his underneath stuff in the second half getting his completions. Again, we had some drops. We can drop the football. If we make those catches then we keep the defense off the field. The long ball that Justin Hunter dropped, we have to continue to fine tune to make those plays."

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