ATLANTA — It’s a little past 8 a.m. and Shea Patterson is animated.
The topic is a Family Feud-style game Michigan played against Florida last night — one of those promotional things through the Peach Bowl — and Patterson is as excited as he’s been in an interview all year.
“Man, it just — it came outta nowhere,” he says. “It came, literally outta nowhere. ... I got panicked. We had four guys left and they had one. And I thought all three — two of them were facing one way and I thought Quinn Rothman was facing that way, too. So I turn him around real quick.
“Next thing I know, the dude’s like, ‘Alright kids, round three.’ I’m facing the other way. I’m like, ‘Ok, I’m just gonna take one for the team right here. I’m gonna lose.’ And all three of them go down. And I’m like, ‘Man. I guess I’ll be in this position.’ ”
He’s sitting at a table in a hotel ballroom, fielding questions and a looking a little less miserable than he should after waking up at 7:42 and coming straight here. Patterson has cultivated a reputation this season as someone who stays quiet around media — both literally and figuratively. Right now though, this doesn’t seem to be a veneer of amiability. He looks, in a word, comfortable, and given the topic of the day, that fits.
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