Jaret Patterson’s 409-yard, eight-TD performance for Buffalo is a reminder of his days at Pallotti
It was one of those wonderful, rare games when everything goes right and the numbers turn surreal. Often, it remains a wonderful memory from the days of flimsy high school defenses and limitless opportunity.
But in the past month, Patterson has had that kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience two more times.
The junior has long been a playmaker for the Bulls, rushing for 1,013 yards as a freshman and 1,799 as a sophomore. But the craziness started in earnest Nov. 17, when he put up 301 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Bowling Green. On Saturday, he followed that performance with 409 yards and eight touchdowns against Kent State.
He tied the Football Bowl Subdivision record for touchdowns in a game and became one of just four players to rush for more than 400 yards in a game.
“It’s been crazy,” Patterson said. “A little bit overwhelming. … Our coaches always stress how you’re going to respond when you get successful. Are you going to get satisfied? Or are you going to keep working harder? I’m just looking for ways to keep getting better.”
Coming out of Pallotti, Patterson and his twin brother, James, a linebacker, knew they wanted to play in college together. But Jaret didn’t have as many options as James. His only FBS scholarship offers came from Air Force, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Navy and Toledo. Buffalo, having already signed a running back and offered James a scholarship, asked Jaret to “grayshirt” and enroll in January. He did, and James came along. They helped coach at Pallotti in the fall as they waited to join Buffalo.
Three years later, James is a defensive captain and Jaret is one of the best offensive weapons in the country.
“Me and my brother always wanted to put on for the DMV area,” Jaret Patterson said. “We’re out here representing our families and the state of Maryland. We want to be role models to some guys in the area. You don’t have to go to a Power Five school to be successful.”
Pat Courtemanche, Pallotti’s director of men’s athletics, credits the brothers for helping start a new era of success at the school. Their freshman year, the Panthers won a conference title for the first time in 10 years. The brothers secured a second before they graduated. Watching Jaret these past two weeks, Courtemanche has not been surprised by the wild stats.
“He’s a winner,” Courtemanche said. “But he also understands that it’s a team game. He was here pretty much every day working out in the summers, leading the charge. People pick up on that kind of stuff.”
That love of practice and commitment to getting better has not gone away in his years at Buffalo. On Monday, two days after Patterson’s career outing, Bulls Coach Lance Leipold arrived at a team workout to find the junior going full speed in a kickoff cover drill.
“And he’s not even on the kickoff team,” Leipold said with a laugh. “That’s just the type of guy he is. He wants to go and get some work.”
On Saturday, as Patterson piled up the yards, Courtemanche started using a Heisman hashtag with his tweets from the Pallotti athletics account. He isn’t the only one to think the Buffalo star, after posting 920 rushing yards for a 4-0 team, should be a dark-horse addition to the Heisman Trophy race.
“He deserves to be in this conversation,” Leipold said. “His numbers speak for themselves.”
“Definitely an honor to even be considered in that conversation,” Patterson said. “You never think you’ll be in consideration, but you just have to keep working and control what you can control.”
Read more:
