Michigan left reevaluating options after reclassified two-way playmaker delivers hammer to their recruiting plan

The value of a prospect's words has always been low, but summer visit season means recruits will say positives about everyone until they make an official decision. The Michigan Wolverines were in the thick of the race for four-star South Carolina star playmaker Sequel Patterson until they weren't.

Despite Patterson declaring Michigan being a top contender alongside Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, the Wolverines have been cut from his consideration. 

The 10th-best athlete and two-way star recently reclassified from 2027 to 2026. He was a top 100 recruit in his previous class, and now settles in lower as he's deemed a bit undersized at 165 pounds.

His ability to impact games left little question about his potential, though.

Patterson does it all at the high school level. Last season as a sophomore for Indian Land, he combined for over 1,200 total yards on offense. He caught 52 passes for 758 yards and seven touchdowns, ran for 441 yards and three TDs and even completed five passes for 160 yards and two scores. He also tallied 23 total tackles, eight pass deflections and a pair of interceptions on defense, per MaxPreps.

Just last week, Rivals thought Michigan was in the mix for Patterson. So much for that. Here's what they said at the time.

Sequel Patterson is among several highly recruited 2027 prospects who recently reclassified to the 2026 class. Previously a consensus Top 100 prospect for 2027, the 6'0", 165-pounder now enters the 2026 class as a Top 200 recruit according to Rivals. Though it's early, Michigan appears to be involved in Patterson's recruitment. Following his reclassification, he told reporters that he was very high on Michigan, along with Clemson, Tennessee, and in-state South Carolina. Ron Bellamy and the staff will aim to secure an official visit from Patterson to gain momentum in this recruitment.

When looking at his descriptions of what he likes about Clemson, Tennessee, and South Carolina, it's not hard to see why the southern star may not have been a great fit in Ann Arbor anyway.

On Tennessee: “I like Tennessee’s style of play, they really recruit me hard and they make me feel at home. They have talked to me about how they use me in their offense, their coaches are similar to me and we have a good relationship. I was up there for the Florida game too, and that was a great environment. Rocky Top is a wonderful song.”

On Clemson: “I love how Clemson does things. I don’t have that offer yet, but they are recruiting me, and I know when they offer, the love is real. The staff is great, most are connected to Clemson and it is a real family environment there. How they do things make them different and I like it.”

On South Carolina: “South Carolina makes it feel like home. They recruit the South Carolina guys hard. They get a lot of them, then they go there, produce and have success. The coaches do a great job.”

Michigan will have to shake this off and move on to the next potential offensive weapon who can add more speed and creativity to the unit.