Marcus Freeman provides update on Jarrett Patterson

Jarrett Patterson hasn’t been able to suit up for Notre Dame this season thanks to a foot sprain suffered during the tail end of fall training camp. After being deemed questionable through two games, it looks as though head coach Marcus Freeman has been given the green light to start at guard on Saturday.

“He’s been great. He’s had a great week of practice,” Freeman said of Patterson. “I don’t know if I could sit here and say that he feels 100%. I think this will be something over time that he’ll feel better and better as time goes on. But he’s a warrior and he really, really competed his tail off last week and had a great week of practice. He has been a great leader for our group and I expect him to play really well on Saturday.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Notre Dame shifted Patterson to left guard over the summer after three seasons as the Fighting Irish’s primary center. From 2019 through 2021, Patterson started 34 games at center. He put the NFL Draft on hold to return for a graduate season this year, and the expectation when he returned was he would remain at center, where he had established himself as one of the nation’s best, though that won’t be the case.

Through 1,306 career pass-protection snaps, Patterson hasn’t allowed a single sack at the collegiate level, according to Pro Football Focus. Freeman and company won’t be taking his services for granted anytime soon after his return, especially after the type of season that the Irish have had through two games in 2022.

Freeman and the Fighting Irish, now along with a healthy Patterson, have a chance to right his two wrongs to begin the season starting Week 3 against the Cal Golden Bears at home, though an 0-3 start to the season could spell disaster for Freeman’s and his tenure with the program. And it’s certainly not where Patterson thought his team would be when he decided to return for one final season.