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As first reported by The Wolverine, Michigan junior quarterback Shea Patterson will be ruled immediately eligible for the 2018 season.
Those close to it tell us Michigan's representatives, the NCAA and others have been manning the phones for many hours to work this out, and it could be announced as soon as tomorrow.
Patterson, who transferred to Michigan in December from Ole Miss, filed an appeal to the NCAA to play immediately — typically not allowed by transfers. He claimed that former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and others in the program lied to him during the recruiting process while the school was dealing with NCAA violations in 2016.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound signal caller completed 166-of-260 passes last season for 2,259 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions in seven games before missing the rest of the season with an injury. That's more passing yards and touchdowns than all of Michigan's quarterbacks had in 2017 — in 13 games.
He is a former five-star recruit and No. 1 quarterback in the 2016 class.
"Jim Harbaugh just poached one of the SEC's best QBs in Shea Patterson," ESPN's Paul Finebaum said. "If the NCAA allows him to play in 2018, the Wolverines become a title contender."
Patterson is expected to be named Michigan's starting quarterback over redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters, redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey and freshman Joe Milton.
"He can be a big part of their solution," Rivals.com national director of recruiting Mike Farrell said. "A lot of people are saying, 'now they can win the national championship.'
"He'd be a big piece, because he can extend the play, which the other quarterbacks on the roster can't do. He sees the field a lot better than them."
The official announcement will come as soon as tomorrow.
Passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton refused to name Patterson 'the guy' coming out of spring ball, but several have said Patterson emerged as the Wolverines' No. 1 quarterback.
"Right now, we don't have a guy," Hamilton said. "So, we've got a lot of different guys getting reps. So it's important they all get equal reps and continue to grow and give us a chance to evaluate their progress."
"He's going about his business and taking care of it nicely," head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He's controlling the things that he can control, and we're treating it the same was as a coaching staff and as a team."
For more, check out The Fort and stay tuned to TheWolverine.com.
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