Ole Miss QB Patterson heading to Michigan

Rebels star could petition to play for Wolverines this fall.

Mississippi quarterback Shea Patterson says he will transfer to Michigan, where coach Jim Harbaugh has gone through three starting QBs this season.

Patterson made his commitment in a tweet Monday after visiting the Ann Arbor, Michigan campus last weekend. Patterson is recovering from a right knee injury that cost him the final month of last season, but he should be ready to compete in 2018.

In seven games, Patterson passed for 2,259 yards and 17 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. The sophomore was one of the top recruits in the 2016 class.

Ole Miss was hit with NCAA sanctions two weeks ago that included a bowl ban next season. The NCAA said Mississippi’s seniors could transfer without sitting out next season, as is usually required. Patterson does not qualify for that but could petition the NCAA to be immediately eligible.

Ole Miss granted Patterson, a native of Toledo, Ohio, permission to contact Michigan. Patterson could change his mind before signing a scholarship agreement.

Michigan’s passing game struggled throughout this season, ranking 112th in the country at 168 yards per game. Wilton Speight started the season but went down with a back injury. He has announced plans to transfer. John O’Korn took over for Speight but was mostly ineffective. Brandon Peters was the starter for three games but a concussion forced him to miss the season finale.

Florida: Defensive tackle Taven Bryan decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft. Bryan announced his decision Monday on Twitter, saying coach Dan Mullen’s return to Gainesville “made this decision very difficult because I have the highest regard for him.”

The junior from Casper, Wyoming had 40 tackles and four sacks this season. His size, strength and quickness have NFL scouts projecting him as an early-round pick.

SMU: SMU will hire former California and Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes as its new head coach, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because a deal was still being finalized.

SMU announced a news conference for today. Dykes will replace Chad Morris, who left SMU last week to become Arkansas coach.

Dykes, a Texas native whose father Spike Dykes was a longtime coach at Texas Tech, went 22-15 in three seasons at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12. He spent four years at Cal, where he had just one winning season. He was fired after the 2016 season and spent last year working as an offensive analyst at TCU.