Now in the second week of spring practice, FIU head coach Mike McIntyre is practicing 11-on-11 with his team in full pads. One player who has looked particularly comfortable throughout the first few weeks is back-turning safety Antonio Patterson.
Patterson was one of the first recruits to join McIntyre at FIU and was originally a prep-level safety.
“I felt really comfortable playing safety in high school,” Patterson told G5 Football Daily. “I was scouted as a running back, but my dream was to play safety in college.”
The redshirt sophomore appeared in nine games last season and ran for 33 yards and a touchdown. After all, with Patterson's minutes limited due to already having a lot of running backs and Lexington Joseph returning from injury, I'd go with safety in terms of seeing more action on the field. That was the best choice.
“I love Antonio. [Patterson] It’s safe,” Mike McIntyre said. Going into the scrimmage, we definitely moved him over there to be a first-team or second-team player, and we want him to do that. We're going to see how he does as we get into the scrimmage and do all that, and I think he's going to do really well. ”
The former running back made a name for himself by drafting one of the quarterbacks on the first day of practice. “When I got it, I was talking to Coach Hixson, my old running backs coach. It was good to get it, but for the next play,” Patterson said. .
McIntyre and Patterson's relationship dates back to their days at Tennessee, with Patterson being scouted by McIntyre during his time at Memphis, but when heading to FIU, Patterson decided to follow the coach who scouted him.
Patterson has a chance to add depth to a safety room that lost Deverick Daniel, who is preparing for the NFL Draft. If Patterson can become a first- or second-team player, as McIntyre suggested, this move could be one of FIU's biggest moves of the offseason.
