Dynamite Dozen: Jon Patton catches attention

JON PATTONNo. 8School: Signal MountainHeight: 6-foot-4Weight: 200College interest: Wofford, Furman, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, UT-Chattanooga, Georgia Tech, Samford

Jon Patton was deceptively good last year.

He didn't have a 1,000-yard season and he wasn't among the area leaders in pass receptions, but the Signal Mountain receiver scored a touchdown every third time he touched the ball: 42 catches, 14 TDs.

Patton catches like he's wearing scuba gloves and they're covered with stickum. He goes high and he extends those long arms from his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame. He takes throws away from defensive backs with acrobatic grabs.

The first pass he caught (as a sixth-grader) was with his legs.

"He has unbelievable ability," Signal coach Billl Price said of the player listed No. 8 in this year's Times Free Press Dynamite Dozen. "He led the team in receptions and wound up making some all-state teams last year. He's started since he got here as a freshman."

That first year was a junior varsity schedule, but the past two seasons Patton totaled 66 receptions for 1,309 yards with 17 TDs.

Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech and Middle Tennessee State were the first Football Bowl Subdivision schools expressing interest in him, and now North Carolina State is sending letters. Good numbers, decent size, a 3.4 grade point average and a 28 on the ACT often will grease the recruiting wheels.

"He's going to get a lot more offers," Price said. "He runs disciplined routes. He can play with his hand down or move out and play split end."

Price initially envisioned Patton as a big slot receiver so many schools now seek. That was before Patton bulked up and then shaved a couple of tenths off his 40 time to pare it to 4.7.

"I worked on my speed - explosion drills - and there's a night-and-day difference," Patton said.

While his 40 time wasn't what he wanted at a national underclassmen combine, Patton turned in a 35-inch vertical leap and a 4.2 on the shuttle. He can palm a basketball, and he occasionally showed off a 360-degree dunk in basketball practice last year.

However, he isn't overly excited about the recruiting process, although he attended camps at Wofford, Furman, Vanderbilt and MTSU and still is communicating with coaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Samford along with those at Georgia Tech and N.C. State.

"College recruiters make you feel like you're their No. 1 priority, but you don't really know where you stand," he said.

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