Patterson will play his final game as a Bobcat this week.
It was a balmy Tuesday night in mid-November when Ohio’s seniors were introduced for their final game at Peden Stadium.
The majority of them —19 of the 20 — walked out to midfield with their families. Daz’mond Patterson walked out with his coach and his coach’s wife.
Patterson’s mother, Kenyatta Shaw, attends one game a year in Athens. This season, she came up from Plant City, Florida, to see Ohio beat Marshall in September.
With Shaw absent, it was offensive coordinator and running back’s coach Tim Albin and his wife who joined the senior running back for his last trip out of the tunnel.
“This is my 27th, 28th year of coaching,” Albin said. “And I’m probably as proud of him as I am of anybody.”
Patterson led the Bobcats this season with nine touchdowns and ran for 518 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Patterson was the team’s leading rusher before an injury kept him out of the season finale at Northern Illinois.
Albin also said Patterson is the best pass protection blocker he’s ever coached.
But the 2015 season was truly the first time Patterson was fully utilized.
After focusing primarily on kick returns as a true freshman, injuries kept Patterson on the sideline for spells throughout his sophomore and junior years. Patterson underwent surgery after the 2014 season.
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“Injuries have really bothered me in my career and it sucks,” Patterson said. “With the shoulder injury and my past surgery I just had, it sucks. But I’m not one to get down on myself or get down on the past.”
Patterson, a very outspoken individual, didn’t keep struggles hidden. Roughly two years ago, the he sat down with Albin and talked about the issues Patterson said he was going through.
“He was having a hard time with stuff,” Albin said. “He was down. We had a long, over an hour, talk. And it wasn’t about football. It was about life, and he laid out some goals for himself some things he wanted to do.
“He wanted me to help him with some things and since that talk, he’s been Johnny on the spot.”
As a senior, Patterson said he’s the healthiest he’s been since his freshman year.
And in a running back system featuring multiple backs for different situations, he’s been a staple in the Mid-American Conference’s best running game, Albin believes.
Barring the one-game absence, the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl against Appalachian State will be the third time in four years that Patterson has been in four games.
By then, he will have already graduated — graduating with a degree in Marketing, Management, Communication Studies and a minor in business administration.
Technically it could be the last time Patterson has any involvement with the university, but he’s not going to let that happen, he said.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Albin said, who took pride in walking with Patterson on Senior Night. “I’m not ready for him to leave.”
@charliehatch_
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