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NEW YORK – Former Hutchinson Community College All-American Cordarrelle Patterson became Blue Dragon football’s first first-round NFL Draft pick in program history on Thursday night when the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 29th overall pick.
Patterson, a 6-foot-2, 216-pound receiver/return specialist, is the first Blue Dragon since 2001 to be drafted by an NFL team. That was defensive tackle Mario Monds, who was picked by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round. Between Monds and Patterson, there have been 10 Blue Dragons to reach the NFL, but they were all free-agent signings.
Minnesota wound up with three first-round selections, going defense with the 23rd and 25th overall picks. The Vikings traded back into the first round late on Thursday night with the New England Patriots for the 29th pick to draft Patterson. The Patriots get a second-, third- and seventh-round pick in the trade.
After a stellar two-year career under Blue Dragon head coach Rion Rhoades, Patterson played one season at the University of Tennessee and earned all-SEC honors before declaring for the NFL Draft in January.
Patterson is only the third Blue Dragon ever to be a two-time NJCAA All-American. Patterson was also named the 2011 Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year. When he completed his HCC career, he owned 16 career or single-season or single-game Blue Dragon Dragons records.
In 2011, Patterson caught a career-high 61 passes for 924 yards and he accounted for 1,814 all-purpose yards in helping the Blue Dragons.
The 61 receptions are a school record and the 924 yards rank fourth-best in a single season. He also set a record for single-season all-purpose yardage and had three 200-plus-yard all-purpose yardage games this season and five for his career.
Other single-season offensive records include: Scoring (144 points), total touchdowns (24), and receiving touchdowns (15).
As a kick returner, Patterson averaged an NJCAA-best and HCC single-season record 51.1 yards per return average on 12 returns with three touchdowns. Patterson owns three of the top four all-time kickoff returns with TDs of 98, 97 and 96 yards in his career. He had two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Kilgore in the 2011 season opener.
Patterson was also been a threat running the ball with 379 yards on just 32 carries (11.8 yards per rush).
Patterson accounted for 1,686 yards of all-purpose offense and averaged 17.6 yards every time he touched the football. He broke 200 all-purpose yards three times this season.
The versatile receiver scored 15 receiving touchdowns, six rushing touchdowns and three touchdowns on kickoff returns. His 15 receiving touchdowns and 24 overall touchdowns are single-season records as well as his 144 points scored in 12 games. Patterson scored touchdowns in 20 of 23 games played in his HCC career.
During his one season at Tennessee, Patterson finished with terrific all-around numbers. He had 46 catches for 778 yards and 25 carries for 308 yards. He scored 10 touchdowns, including a kickoff return and a punt return. He even completed a pass for 28 yards.
Patterson was named first-team All-SEC this past season.
To view what ESPN SportScience thinks of Patterson, click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b34PaCvgBFI
(HCC Sports Information)
The fourth member of the 2012 Salt City Bowl champion Hutchinson Community College football team has chosen a Southeastern Conference school to play for next year.
Four-star defensive tackle Toby Johnson signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Georgia next season. He made the announcement at a news conference in the Humiston Athletic Center at the Sports Arena.
Johnson brings the number of total signees from the 2012 Blue Dragon signing class to 20 and he is the ninth BCS signee. In his six seasons, head coach Rion Rhoades has had 52 players sign Division I letters, including 24 into BCS programs. A total of 108 players have signed with four-year programs under Rhoades.
Johnson becomes the first Blue Dragon to sign with Georgia in 17 years. Linebacker Erich Robisch was the last HCC player to sign with the Bulldogs.
Johnson, a 6-foot-4 1/2 inch, 305-pound defensive tackle from College Park, Ga., narrowed his choices of more than 35 schools to Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State and Oklahoma.
He joins teammates Kenny Flowers, Devonte Danzey and Ben Bradley in the SEC. Those three players all signed with Auburn on National Letter of Intent Day on Feb. 6.
Even before the season started, Johnson was being talked about. He entered the 2012 season as the No. 1 overall junior college recruit in the nation.
That meant opposing offenses were paying attention, too. Johnson normally drew double teams and still put together a solid season, missing the final 2 1/2 games because of injuries.
Johnson finished with 37 total tackles, 12 were unassisted. He had 6.5 tackles for loss, including three quarterback sacks. He also had four passes defensed. Johnson had a career-high seven total tackles against Dodge City on Sept. 15. He had six tackles each against Air Force Prep and Independence.
For his career, Johnson had 87 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five quarterback sacks. He also had nine passes broken up, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.
Other BCS signings by current Blue Dragon players are:
+ Linebacker Kenny Flowers (Lilburn, GA) – Auburn University
+ Offensive Lineman Devonte Danzey (Tampa, FL) – Auburn University
+ Defensive Tackle Ben Bradley (Norcross, GA) – Auburn University
+ Linebacker Antonio Longino (East Cleveland, Ohio) – Arizona State University
+ Receiver/quarterback Kody Cook (Louisburg, KS – Kansas State University
+ Defensive end Demetrius Alston (Norcross, GA) – Texas Tech University
+ Kicker Michael Mesh (Hutchinson) – Kansas University
+ Linebacker DeVondre Campbell (Fort Myers, FL) – University of Minnesota
Those Blue Dragons signing with non-BCS programs are:
+ Running back Terrell Lane (Norton) – East Carolina University
+ Wide receiver Antonio Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – Troy University
+ Cornerback Keion Payne (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – Troy University
+ Offensive lineman Solomon Normore (Wichita) – University of New Mexico
+ Defensive tackle Robbie Zimmerman (Sumter, SC) – University of Toledo
Those signing with FCS programs are:
+ Reciever Miguel Johns (Newton) – Indiana State University
Those signing with NCAA Division II/NAIA programs are:
+ Tight end Connor Thierolf (Marion) – Emporia State University
+ Fullback Braden Eck (Garden Plain) – Fort Hays State University
+ Defensive end Adrian Mack (Waycross, GA) – University of Central Oklahoma
+ Running back LaQua Mayes (Rose Hill) – Presbyterian College
+ Offensive lineman Williams Thacker (Hutchinson) – McPherson College
Nineteen members of the 2012 Salt City Bowl champion Hutchinson Community College football team announced where they will play next season at a signing ceremony in the Blue Dragon Room of the Parker Student Union on Wednesday, college football’s National Letter of Intent Day.
Five of the players made their announcements in person during the ceremony which was videostreamed live by the Blue Dragon Sports Network.
In Blue Dragon head coach Rion Rhoades six seasons with the program, this is the single-largest signing class he has had, including the most BCS signings by a single class.
With this year’s group, coach Rhoades has placed 51 Blue Dragons into NCAA Division I programs, including 23 into BCS programs. Rhoades has placed 107 HCC players into four-year programs, an average of 17.8 per season.
Eight members of the group signed with BCS programs, including three to Auburn University. Signing with the Tigers are linebacker Kenny Flowers (Lilburn, GA), offensive lineman Devonte Danzey (Tampa, FL) and defensive lineman Ben Bradley (Norcross, GA).
Other BCS signings by current Blue Dragon players are:
+ Linebacker Antonio Longino (East Cleveland, Ohio) – Arizona State University
+ Receiver/quarterback Kody Cook (Louisburg, KS – Kansas State University
+ Defensive end Demetrius Alston (Norcross, GA) – Texas Tech University
+ Kicker Michael Mesh (Hutchinson) – Kansas University
+ Linebacker DeVondre Campbell (Fort Myers, FL) – University of Minnesota
Longino is the first Blue Dragon ever to sign with Arizona State. Campbell is the first Blue Dragon to sign with Minnesota since 1997 and HCC sent a trio of players to the Gophers.
Those Blue Dragons signing with non-BCS programs are:
+ Running back Terrell Lane (Norton) – East Carolina University
+ Wide receiver Antonio Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – Troy University
+ Cornerback Keion Payne (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – Troy University
+ Offensive lineman Solomon Normore (Wichita) – University of New Mexico
+ Defensive tackle Robbie Zimmerman (Sumter, SC) – University of Toledo
Those signing with FCS programs are:
+ Reciever Miguel Johns (Newton) – Indiana State University
Those signing with NCAA Division II/NAIA programs are:
+ Tight end Connor Thierolf (Marion) – Emporia State University
+ Fullback Braden Eck (Garden Plain) – Fort Hays State University
+ Defensive end Adrian Mack (Waycross, GA) – University of Central Oklahoma
+ Running back LaQua Mayes (Rose Hill) – Presbyterian College
+ Offensive lineman Williams Thacker (Hutchinson) – McPherson College
(HCC Sports Information)
