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Florida coach Dan Mullen is very familiar with Michigan’s junior quarterback Shea Patterson.

The two have experience facing each other in the Egg Bowl.

Mullen has faced Patterson once before while the head coach at Mississippi State. In Patterson’s freshman season, Mullen defeated Ole Miss 55-20. Patterson missed the Egg Bowl in 2017 due to injury.

“I’ve faced him before - I don’t know if that is good or bad - when he was quarterback at Ole Miss,” Mullen said. “He's a very talented quarterback, has a great arm, makes reads, stays in the pocket and delivers the ball, but the thing to me that really makes him even more difficult to defend is when he starts to improvise. When he gets outside of the framework of the offense.”

Patterson’s ability to move outside the pocket provides challenges, but Mullen thinks his ability to stand in the pocket is also an asset for Patterson.

“He probably trusts the offense a little bit more when you talk about his improvisation,” Mullen said. “He’s going to hang in the pocket a little bit longer and he’s going to trust the system and not all of a sudden try to take off and make a play. He is going to trust the system a little bit more.”

His legs are just as dangerous.

“Where he drops back, you get a good rush and we have the route covered and now he takes off and starts making things happen, and that is one of the things that makes him very difficult to defend,” Mullen said. “He has the ability to improvise within the offense and not just take off and run to try to scramble to stay alive and make big plays.”

While Mullen will have to face Patterson, he won’t have to face junior defensive end Rashan Gary, junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. and senior running back Karan Higdon who all will not play against the Gators. No player on Florida has said they aren’t playing in the Peach Bowl.

Mullen talked about his players decisions Monday.

“It's a very personal decision for guys,” Mullen said. “When you look at that thing, what I tell the guys is to just be all in one way or the other. If you don't want to play, that's great. Be all in on it. Don't have any regrets. And if you decide to play, don't have any regrets that you did," Mullen said. "I think when that happens you're going to be really confident in your performance. I sat down with our guys and said 'hey, we'd love you to play and I think the benefit of playing is huge.”

For the Gators, the bowl is an chance for them to add another 60 minutes of game film against a top foe.

"We're talking about guys who want to go to the next level. Well, they get the opportunity to go put a game on film against Michigan. That's a top-10 team. (Scouts) will pick three or four games to watch these guys perform, (this) will be one of those three or four games. You have an opportunity to put that on film, that's a huge plus. But it's a really personal decision for the individual."

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