James Patterson, Buffalo Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/09/22 - ILB James Patterson, rSr/2023, Buffalo

James Patterson began his fifth season with the Bulls when they opened preseason practices Thursday at UB Stadium in preparation for their season opener at noon Sept. 3 at Maryland. The linebacker from Glenn Dale, Md., is using his extra year of eligibility, granted by the NCAA in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He didn't want to leave the program after an uncharacteristic 4-8 season, either - UB's first under-.500 season since 2016, when the Bulls were 2-10. "4-8 is not a good look," Patterson said. "That's not been the known, that's not been the recent for Buffalo football. Since I've been here, we've always been to a MAC championship game or to a bowl game, so that's the expectation. We want to keep rising, and try to go to a New Year's Six bowl. That's always been the goal, to be a top 25 team, and to make it even better."

Patterson led UB and was second in the Mid-American Conference with 116 tackles in 2021, and he returns to the Bulls after sitting out UB's spring game due to sports-hernia surgery. He also returns to a team that underwent significant offseason roster turnover, as 21 FBS and FCS transfers and 15 true freshmen and junior-college players join this year's roster. "The fact that he is back, James Patterson is one of the top returning players in college football," UB coach Maurice Linguist said. "He probably had a lot of opportunities after the season to do a lot of things, and he's on a lot of NFL scouts' lists right now. The fact that he said, 'I'm coming back,' ... it tells you something, when your best players and the best people and the fact they want to come back, it speaks to what we feel like is going on in that locker room right now. "We're excited about the ability they bring and the leadership they've provided." - Buffalo News

rSr/2023