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Miami lands local 4-star S Zaquan Patterson over Michigan, Florida State and Auburn in very tight recruiting battle

Stephen Wagner covers recruiting for the University of Miami for On3 Sports and CaneSport. He can be found on Twitter at @stephenwag22 and reached at Stephen.Wagner@On3.com.by: Stephen Wagner08/26/23stephenwagOn3
Zaquan Patterson 5 copy 1
Photos by Chad Simmons/On3

Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna four-star safety Zaquan Patterson, the No. 80 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, kept Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Auburn and Ohio State fans on their toes in the weeks leading up to his Saturday decision.

But he gave Hurricane fans a reason to smile Saturday.

The 6-foot-0.5, 185-pound safety announced his commitment to Miami at halftime of Chaminade’s season opener against St. Frances after an anxiety-filled August for fans of his top five schools. He took multiple visits to all five programs in 2023 — which included two summer visits each to Florida State, Michigan and Auburn — and received heavy recruiting pushes as he neared his decision.

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But Miami, who had recruited Patterson the hardest for the longest, ultimately won out.

“I felt it was the best opportunity for me,” Patterson said. “I can have an impact on that team. I just want to see Miami great again.

“I want to get back to work, get to that next step and be great.”

Miami’s recruiting victory came behind a tremendous months-long effort to keep one of the country’s top prospects in South Florida. The Hurricanes made the most aggressive recruiting effort for Patterson for the longest period of time, although Michigan, Florida State and Auburn made the most notable efforts to close the gap over the summer.

Patterson visited Miami once this summer but emphasized he had not lost interest in the Hurricanes, who were always on his radar as his hometown school. He simply felt he could return to Coral Gables any time he chose, and his love for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal kept the Hurricanes firmly in the mix.

Patterson becomes the 22nd commitment of the Hurricanes’ 2024 recruiting cycle and Miami’s fourth-highest ranked commit according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Patterson is also Miami’s second 2024 commitment from Chaminade-Madonna as he joins four-star receiver teammate (and currently the Hurricanes’ highest-ranked commit in the class) Joshisa Trader in Coral Gables.

Patterson told CaneSport he intends to keep his recruitment open and take “two or three” official visits this season as well as attend several game weekends on different campuses. He plans to attend several Miami home games as well as the Michigan-Ohio State game at The Big House, although he said it will be very difficult for a program to flip him from Miami.

CaneSport’s Take

Patterson was a local talent Miami couldn’t afford to lose in the 2024 class given the amount of focus the staff had placed on the former members of the Miami Gardens Ravens youth league football teams, which included four-star receiver commit Chance Robinson, No. 1 overall prospect Jeremiah Smith and three-star cornerback commit Ryan Mack.

But now that he’s committed to the Hurricanes, the staff can check a massive box off their recruiting checklist for this class.

Aside from the obvious need to land South Florida’s most talented prospects, Miami was in dire need of a safety commit in this cycle. The Hurricanes will likely be in major need of safety depth after this season and need to turn to the transfer portal or add another talent like Patterson, who took the opportunity for early playing time into consideration when making his decision.

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