Mike Patterson
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| Mike Patterson | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 1, 1983 (age 23) |
| Place of birth |  Sacramento, CA |
| Position(s) | Defensive tackle |
| College | Southern California |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 1/ Pick 31 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-present | Philadelphia Eagles |
Mike Patterson (born September 1, 1983 in Sacramento, California) is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.
[edit] Professional career
He was selected with the 31st overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California. Mike started the 2005 season as 2nd string, but started his first ever NFL game on September 25, 2005 when DT Darwin Walker was injured. When Walker returned to the lineup 4 games later, Mike went back to second string. On December 11, 2005, Mike was moved permanently to the starting LDT position and remains there. In 2005, Mike Patterson was regarded as one of the best rookie defensive linemen in the NFL. He recorded the most tackles (38) in the season out of all the Eagles' defensive line and he had more sacks (3.5) than any other Eagle's DT or rookie DT in the NFL.
Patterson will go down in Eagles lore for having the longest fumble recovery in team history. On the afternoon of September 24, 2006, Patterson picked up a fumble on the Eagles' own 2-yard line and ran 98 yards for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers.
On November 2, 2006, Patterson signed a 7-year contract extension through the 2016 season.
[edit] College career
For the USC Trojans, Patterson was a first team All-American. Patterson played 4 years and helped win 2 National Championships with USC. He started for three years and played mainly as a nose tackle, but also a tackle. During his senior year, Patterson was the subject of double coverage by many other teams. He was nicknamed "Baby Sapp" because of the similar playing style to that of NFL's Warren Sapp; however, Patterson has since developed and is unique with his style of play now.
[edit] Personal
Mike is originally from Sacramento, California, but while visiting some family in Los Alamitos, California in between 8th and 9th grades, he decided to stay down there so that he could play football at Los Alamitos High School. He had decided this only after attending a summer football camp with his cousin Jorrel and enjoying the game very much. Mike became a very good player even though he had never played at all prior to the summer camp. As a junior in high school, Mike was named to the Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team second-team and All-Sunset League first-team honors. In his senior year, Mike earned Prep Star All-American, SuperPrep All-Far West, Prep Star All-Western Region, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best of the West second team, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County, Orange County Register All-Orange County first-team, Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first-team and All-Sunset League honors. Mike was a sociology major at USC.
