Shea Patterson might well have gotten a fifth year had he petitioned the NCAA, and there were rumblings he might. Instead, the former Michigan quarterback is at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis preparing for his shot at the NFL.

The process would have involved waiting to hear from the NCAA, and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

“I couldn’t really find out until early February, maybe late February, if I would even get the fifth year,” Patterson said. "That’s a big risk. I would have had to pass up the Senior Bowl. I would have had to pass up training.

“If I didn’t get that, I would have been stuck in no-man’s land.”

Injuries limited him to 10 games over two years at Mississippi, where he played the first two years of his career. He initially committed to Arizona and transferred to U-M after his second year, getting clearance to play immediately

Patterson threw for 2,600 yards as a junior and was team MVP during his senior year, leading the Wolverines to a 9-4 record.

“I wasn’t ready [to leave Michigan],” Patterson said. “I loved playing at Michigan, and I would have loved to be sure about [having eligibility for] another year, to play with those guys and my teammates and that coaching staff.

“I thought that would have been awesome, to be able to have that sureness of, ‘Hey, I can come back for another year and grow.’ If I had an extra year, more than one year in an offense, it would have been really nice in college.”

Patterson played under coordinator Pep Hamilton his first year at Michigan and under Josh Gattis last year.

Though he’s projected to go undrafted, Patterson said the process of preparing has suited him well.

“It’s been a fast transition right after the bowl game. You get back from the Bowl Game January 3, then five days later you’re training for the Combine, so it’s been a fun monthg and half just preparing, working out by myself and getting better,” he said, noting he faced and overcame his share of adversity in college.

“I’m going to come in with a chip on my shoulder. I’m probably not one of the most sought-after guys in this draft, quarterback-wise, but I’m looking forward to proving all those people wrong.”

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