Patchan Works to Change His Label
Transfer has stamped out a new perspective of his play
Mike Brohard
He felt he had been unfairly typecast. No more. No less.
Those were the circumstances Scott Patchan faced at Miami, and he wasn’t sure why, but he knew he needed a new home, that much was sure. A place where he could prove himself.
He had a ton of offers, but only looked at two schools – Florida Atlantic and Colorado State. Why those two schools, when Power 5 programs were also expressing keen interest?
He wanted to be taught.
Is there a better type of transfer player for a coach to land? A guy with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. Someone who felt he was a better player than his current evaluation, but one who also knew he had much to learn. Who craved to be taught, pushed and challenged.
Colorado State defensive line coach Antoine Smith thinks not.
“He doesn’t leave anything to chance,” Smith said. “Some guys talk. He doesn’t talk. He just comes and works every day and he’s very passionate about how he works and takes care of his body. He is a true athlete who loves performing. That’s pretty awesome.”
His 2019 season at Miami took a quick turn, with him playing the majority of downs in the opener, then getting those game reps cut in half the next week. Was he a perfect pass rusher in his estimation? No, but he also wasn’t going to get better playing just against the run.
“They tried to tell me I wasn’t a good pass rusher, and kind of took that to heart and let it sit, and it never really sat right with me,” Patchan said. “I especially disagreed with them, respectively, and my role essentially became a first- and second-down player, and I felt disrespected by that.
“What I looked for was a coach who really knew what he was doing as far as teaching all phases of the game, obviously being run and pass.”
He also needed to trust them, and head coach Steve Addazio – who had recruited Patchan’s brother to Boston College – played a role in landing Patchan. He’s also played a role in improving him as a defensive player.
But first, Smith had to get his claws in him.
“I saw a high-effort guy who showed enough of a good first step that I thought I could increase his game in the pass rush. I built on that,” Smith said. “It took him a little bit of a time, a little bit of an adjustment. We’re a get-off front, and we play a different style of defense. I think the way I align him in pass rush, and I think the pass-rush philosophy of our footwork and our hands was something that was really different for him. It took him a little time, but you could see him slowly start to get better and better, and all of the sudden, he just took off.”
Patchan won’t give away any of Smith’s trade secrets; he said those belong to his coach. But he is proof they are effective when adapted. He stops with explaining it is a three-step plan, and while a lot of it is physical in nature, the intangibles are just as key.
Those, Patchan said, have really played a big role in his performance, as his 1.38 sacks per game rank third nationally (5.5 overall) and his 1.88 tackles for loss per outing (7.5 total) rank sixth in the country.
“It’s everything he brings to the table, and a big part of it too is preparation and understanding your opponent’s weakness,” Patchan said. “How does he set? Is he a puncher, does he lean, does he punch with his head? Does he bend at the waist? When he kicks, is heavy on his heels or is he on his toes? When he punches, are his hands wide or are they together? Does he punch with one arm or is he a double-arm puncher?
“It's those types of things to look for that I never really knew at Miami. He gave me the tools to really understand how to really attack my opponent. Now Coach Addazio comes over in pass rush all the time, and I hear exactly how he tells a good offensive lineman how to play. I come over and I hear the little tidbits he tells the offensive linemen, and then he’ll explain to the defensive linemen why they do that, and it only makes everybody better. When you understand your opponent better, you become better.”
Smith tells him at those times to listen to Addazio first, then come listen to him. At night, if his phone rings, it’s probably Patchan. He’ll ask about the practice plan the next day, and Smith can hear the pages flipping in Patchan’s notebook as they talk.
On game day, the coaches both just sit back and watch the show.
“I think his leadership, his approach to football – his maniacal approach to football; the way he prepares for games, the way he trains … He teams up with Manny and Toby, and those three guys with that same mindset permeates the rest of the defensive line,” Addazio said. “The culture of their defensive line becomes that hard-working, tough, great pride, coach-me-as-hard-as-you-can-coach-me type of thing. Guys, that’s what it’s all about.”
Addazio also noted with Devin Phillips out last week, there was no real rotation on the defensive front. Patchan played every snap, which is actually normal and definitely preferred. He told Smith upon arrival he wanted to play at least 60 snaps a game. He wanted to gain a rhythm and really pick apart his opponent, and an end doesn’t do that by coming in and out.
So Smith doesn’t take out Patchan. He lets Patchan take out Patchan. Down 21 points at Boise State, Smith said Patchan never flinched and played like the contest was scoreless. If one really watches, this is a kid who really is enjoying playing again and who he’s playing alongside.
“Oh yeah. It’s all the personalities that we have in our room, and especially the four of us on the field,” Patchan said. “It’s just a fun group of guys to be around. I’ve been around a bunch of good people, but we all get each other, and you have Coach Smith pushing the room. You have a bunch of individuals in there that really understand what the goals are, and we’re all on the same page at this point now.”
Even if I have the season I can have in five games, it’s only five games. It’s the body of work, and my real goal was to really hush those people up in a nice way.Scott Patchan, Defensive End
He isn’t a lot of fun to go against in practice, either.
That’s where Patchan works to perfect what he’s been taught, testing his new ability to study and dissect those he goes against in games. Some transfers make a difference in performance, but Patchan also carries a fire which spreads to others.
“I mean, he’s a good player. I’m really happy he’s on the team,” tight end Trey McBride said. “He’s tough as heck, and he’s always around the ball. He’s a guy who always seems like he’s in on the tackle. His stats kind of show you what he does. He’s a good player, and I’m happy he decided to come here.”
Smith isn’t surprised Patchan improved. Far from it. He worked too hard to achieve this. But he does admit it has progressed much quicker than he expected. Given a 12-game schedule, Smith really felt around Week 7, Patchan would at full force and become a wrecking ball the final five games.
He’s been that since the opener. He has registered a sack in each game, spearheading a performance by the defense that has Colorado State tied for the top spot nationally with 10.5 tackles for loss per game and tied for fourth with 4.0 sacks per outing.
Patchan isn’t as high on himself as his coach, because he’s not sure five games is really enough to have reached all of his goals.
“No, but every game I feel like I’m getting closer. It would be better if we had all original all eight games, because then I could probably say with a straight face yes or no in the course of those eight games,” he said. “Being limited to five maybe games … Even if I have the season I can have in five games, it’s only five games. It’s the body of work, and my real goal was to really hush those people up in a nice way.
"That being said, it’s a mentality of having that chip on my shoulder every day, proving certain people wrong that wanted to label me wrongly or said I couldn’t do something. That didn’t feel right with me.”
Five games or not, at least part of 2020 has felt right to him. He’s an every-down player, and he’s getting to the passer.
And he hasn’t had to say a word