Miami freshman S Zaquan Patterson: I’m comfortable going into a game right now, says Guidry’s D is “becoming more natural for me”

Miami safety Zaquan Patterson enrolled early as a highly touted 4-star signee out of Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep, and he hasn’t disappointed this spring. At 6-0 and 195 pounds, he’s shown the speed, ranginess and physicality you want from a top college safety.

But the real challenge for Patterson isn’t being the biggest, fastest or strongest.

It’s learning Lance Guidry’s defense.

“It’s a great experience being able to come (enroll) early, try to establish myself on the team,” said Patterson, who is only playing safety right now but says nickel could be in his future as well. “It’s been a great experience, guys have been great, open to me, helping me with the playbook. And coaches understand that we are still young guys, learning, are taking their time with us and making sure we get it together.”

Guidry said earlier this spring that it takes a year to year-and-a-half for a safety to truly understand what to do on the field.

So even though the Canes have a big need at safety with James Williams and Kam Kinchens gone, it might be a tall task to expect a lot from Patterson in Year 1.

Or is it?

“It’s a lot, the checks and things like that, but I’m definitely getting better at it,” Patterson said. “It’s becoming more natural for me. I feel if you watch when I first got here to now you can see I’m moving a little bit faster when it comes to the plays. It’s gotten more natural for me.”

So if there was a game tomorrow would he be comfortable going in?

“Absolutely,” he says. “I’m a go-getter – see ball, get ball. But I want to become more than that, not just somebody who can make a big hit but be somebody who can control that defense, give the check to the whole defense, control the game.”

Patterson chose Miami over offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas, among others, and some recruiting services listed him as a 5-star.

“I wanted to go a place I felt I was needed as well as had an opportunity to play early,” Patterson said. “Miami has been in my corner since day 1, one of my first offers, my third or fourth one. And they were consistent with it ever since then. I felt like this was the place for me.”

Patterson’s talent is unquestioned.

The other safeties in the room with him this spring: Jaden Harris, Markeith Williams, Vanderbilt sophomore transfer Savion Riley, Kaleb Spencer, Brian Balom and fellow freshman Dylan Day.

As you can see from the above, there just isn’t a lot of starting experience at safety (two starts for Harris when Kinchens was hurt, one for Williams in the bowl game with Kinchens and Williams opting out, two starts for Riley in his time at Vandy and that’s it).

“It’s a lot of competition, but we are all just working,” Patterson said. “We are all brothers and want to see each other get better at the end of the day. … We are pushing each other to be the best every day.”

A final thought from Patterson?

“Coach Guidry, he stays on top of you making sure you do the right thing,” Patterson said. “He understands what we do as DBs.”

*Asked about facing Florida in the opener, Patterson said, “They already did a lot of talking, their quarterback did I heard. It’s going to be a game where we’re going to go prove a point.”

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