Miami football redshirt Senior Scott Patchan hopes for breakout season

Scott Patchan signed with the Miami football program as a four-star, legacy recruit in the Class of 2015. His career has been filled with injuries and position changes. Patchan hopes to be able to live up to expectations as a senior.

Scott Patchan’s father Matt was on the Hurricanes 1983 and ’87 National Championship teams. Coming out of high school, Scott was the 19th best defensive end in the country and a four-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals.Com. Patchan hopes to make an impact with the Miami football team in 2019.

The 6’6 255 pound defensive end is one of the last recruits from the Al Golden era. Patchan will play for his third head coach this season in Manny Diaz. Diaz has been Patchan’s coordinator on defense for the last three seasons. Injuries and positions changes have made it difficult for Patchan to make an impact at defensive end.

The Bradenton, Florida resident switched to tight end during the Hurricanes memorable 2017  season. He switched back to defensive end last season. Patchan redshirted as a Freshman in 2015 and has one season of eligibility remaining. He played in only five games combined as a redshirt Sophomore and Freshman.

Patchan played in 12 of Miami’s 13 games in 2018 and was productive backing up Jonathan Garvin and Joe Jackson. With Jackson departed to the NFL Patchan has a chance to become a starter in his final season with the Hurricanes. Patchan recorded 29 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one forced fumble in 2018.

Being a legacy player at the U is never easy. It comes with a lot of expectations and responsibilities. Five current Miami football players have had relatives precede them as players on the Miami football team.

New Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker spoke

about the difficulty of legacies following in their father’s footsteps.

"“Obviously when a kid grows up a legacy they grow up with a great deal of pride in this university before they ever step on campus… I think it’s pretty cool. Growing up and bleeding orange and green is added probably motivation for them.You want to outdo your dad,’’ Baker said. “That’s kind of how you grow up in most cases. We talk about you can’t control that. If you put that added pressure on yourself you’re just doing yourself a disservice…Patchan is a guy that is really giving us a lot of production early on, doing a lot of good things.”"

Most players at this level have their own expectations of how they should be performing. It’s impossible to make it this far as a football player without being confident in your skills. Patchan spoke about his career at Miami and failing to live up to his expectations of how his collegiate career would unfold.

"“I feel like I’ve been here for a long time and haven’t lived up to the expectations I set for myself coming into college…Definitely just trying to hold myself to the highest standard possible… I’m pushing myself to a whole new level.I’m enjoying the moment, enjoying the process. You’ve got to love the process to be a football player, especially at the University of Miami where there are already high standards. And I’m setting even higher standards because there’s the whole legacy issue.It’s not like pressure or anything, but he (Patchan’s father Matt) set a standard and I gotta hold myself accountable. Am I living up to that standard? I played last year, but did I do anything worth mentioning? Absolutely not. I gotta hold myself to an even higher standard. It’s just an attacking mentality I have right now.’’"

Patchan will battle with Garvin, Virginia Tech graduate transfer Trevon Hill, rising redshirt freshman Trevon Hill and incoming freshman Jahfari Harvey to earn playing time in the Hurricanes rotation at defensive end. Miami has a lot of talent and depth on the edge. Setting the standard to earn playing time is going to be difficult.

There are only so many snaps and opportunities for each player to earn his worth. The Hurricanes open up against a tough opponent in Florida, where Patchan’s brother, Matt Jr played. As the season evolves let’s hope Patchan has plenty of plays and games worth mentioning.