Recruiting mailbag: Where might Des Moines Roosevelt QB Jamison Patton play college football?
Matthew BainHi, everyone. Welcome, once again, to the recruiting mailbag.
Before we get to this week's questions and answers, a quick heads up for those of you who might not be aware: A 35-second shot clock could come to Iowa high school basketball as soon as the 2022-23 academic year.
Last week, the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) ruled its member state associations could begin adopting a 35-second shot clock in 2022-23. Before, states could use a shot clock if they wanted to, but they would have lost certain voting privileges and their spots on NFHS rules committees.
Iowa always opted to follow the NFHS.
Now, the door is open for change.
I talked with the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union after the NFHS ruling. Over the next year, both organizations will gather feedback from across the state, as well as data from experimental usage of shot clocks, in order to make a joint decision on whether Iowa will have a shot clock.
Translation: Vital conversations regarding the future of Iowa high school basketball will take place over the next year. Keep an eye out and an ear open for news with that.
This week's questions focus on a trio of rising in-state football prospects who have promising futures playing on Saturdays.
Where might Jamison Patton wind up?
I am on the Jamison Patton bandwagon. In fact, I'm probably its conductor.
You might not know as much about the Des Moines Roosevelt dual-threat quarterback because Des Moines Public Schools played only two games last fall due to COVID-19, but he ought to be a name you hear often over the next two years. Patton is one of 12 Iowa quarterbacks in the 2023 class I highlighted last week who have very real shots of playing Division I football.
Ankeny's J.J. Kohl might wind up the highest-ranked prospect; he's already getting interest from plenty of Power Fives, including Alabama. But, man, Patton really passes the eye test at a high level right now.
The term "dual-threat quarterback" is used too often. It seems if a prospect can even run a bit, folks call him dual-threat. Patton, however, is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback, whose legs are just as dangerous as his powerful arm. He can sling the ball around with excellent accuracy scrambling outside the pocket. He can tuck and run for chunk gains, too. He's 6-foot-1 and about 200 pounds with a quarterback's arm, a receiver's speed and a fullback's durability on the run.
His sophomore stats (two games): 31-for-59, 367 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions; 18 carries, 62 yards, three touchdowns.
I think Patton is going to see a nice stock surge this summer. Schools just don't know much about him. You can't blame coaches for not offering a prospect with just two games of sophomore season film, no matter how impressive it is.
Patton is set to compete in camps at Iowa (June 6), Iowa State (June 8), Kansas State (June 10), Missouri (June 13), Northern Iowa (June 20) and Miami of Ohio (June 25).
"He is a machine," his trainer, former Iowa State tight end Ernst Brun Jr., told me. "He just works. So underrated and recruiting will pick up after he hits these camps."
Patton holds recruiting interest from all the schools he's camping at, and he holds an offer from junior college powerhouse Iowa Western. I think he's got the skills to play quarterback in college. But, also a basketball and baseball star at Roosevelt, he could translate to any number of positions in college. He told me Iowa and Iowa State are also looking at him potentially in the secondary.
So ... to finally answer the question: An FCS program is Patton's floor, in my opinion, and it wouldn't shock me if Northern Iowa starts the offers off this summer. I think he's a Power Five-caliber freshman in two years.
What can you tell us about Eddie Burgess?
It seems like every few years in Iowa, a unicorn from 8-player football pops up on college football's radar and emerges as a prospect to watch.
In the 2021 class, it was Fremont-Mills linebacker Seth Malcom, who wound up picking Nebraska over offers from Iowa State, Minnesota and Kansas State. Before him, Lenox tight end Spencer Brown committed to Northern Iowa in 2015 and was a third-round NFL Draft pick this year by the Buffalo Bills as an offensive lineman.
In 2022, Montezuma's Eddie Burgess is starting to make Division I waves. The 6-4, 220-pound quarterback/linebacker/kick returner landed his first offer from South Dakota on Monday. Northern Illinois and South Dakota State have also shown interest, and he will likely add more interest during camps this summer. He told me he still isn't sure which camps he'll attend, but you'd have to imagine Iowa and Iowa State are on the list.
"Just wanna get myself out there," Burgess said.
Burgess is a wrecking ball at the 8-player level. On offense, he accounted for 4,951 total yards and 87 touchdowns while leading the Braves to the state semifinal. On defense, he piled up 91 tackles (including 13 solo tackles for loss), one fumble recovery and one interception. On special teams, he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
He's also a star basketball player for Montezuma. He averaged 13.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game during the Braves' Class 1A state championship season.
You can see why schools are intrigued.
You can also see why I've got him ranked No. 23 in this state's loaded 2022 class of football talent and have had him ranked in the top 25 since last August.
Whether that intrigue turns to more offers is yet to be determined. He doesn't project as a quarterback in college. His frame can support more weight, so he could project most as a defensive end or perhaps even tight end.
What can we expect from Watts McBride down the line?
Football fans out in eastern Iowa might already know about Cedar Rapids Washington 2023 defensive back Watts McBride. The whole state will soon, too.
McBride has been high on my radar since about late September, when the 6-foot, 175-pound sophomore led Class 4A at the time in tackles. Any time a sophomore leads the state's largest class in something, you take a closer look. So I did. And his film is just as impressive as his numbers.
Fast-forward to the end of the season, and McBride wound up third in 4A with 70.5 tackles and an honorable mention on our All-Iowa football team. He logged 5.5 solo tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. He played all over the field for Washington, from cornerback to safety to even some outside linebacker. He's a mean, sure tackler who understands angles in the run game and likes to smash balls loose in pass coverage.
Those skills translate for McBride on the rugby pitch, where you have to be hard-nosed and physical. He starred for Washington's club rugby team this year and was recently named the MVP of Iowa high school rugby.
McBride told me Iowa State and Wisconsin have invited him to summer camps. Not much interest outside that has developed so far. A versatile defensive back with good size and great grit, McBride should have a handful of options when it comes time to make a college decision down the line. He'll be highly ranked when I debut our in-state 2023 football recruiting rankings next fall.
Matthew Bain covers recruiting, Drake basketball and pretty much anything else under the sports sun for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.