'10 KY LB Tim Patterson (Official Offer)

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Rivals
Scout

Outside linebacker
Louisville (KY) Central

Ht: 6-foot-5
Wt: 225 lbs
GPA: 3.2
Class: 2010 (High School)

The Recruiting Guy

Arkansas and everyone else in the nation is looking at 2010 linebacker Tim Patterson. He led the team in tackles with 125. Scroggins said Patterson, 6-5, 225, has slightly better upside then Wilson. He already has an offer from the Wildcats.

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courier-journal.com | Jody Demling - Recruiting blog | The Courier-Journal

I spent some time this afternoon at Central High School working on a feature for Wednesday's newspaper and chatted with junior linebacker Tim Patterson.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Patterson is impressive.

He's a nice size kid with great speed and a lot of ability. Despite having Kentucky commitments Ridge Wilson and Mister Cobble also on defense, it has been Patterson who has led the Yellowjackets in tackles each of the past two seasons.

Patterson has a very impressive list of schools already watching his progress.

Central coach Ty Scroggins said Kentucky has already offered and Patterson said "I've been thinking about them since the made the offer." It's his only offer at this time.

But Scroggins also said "just about everybody has called," including Southern California, Alabama, Oregon and Tennessee. The coach said Patterson has not heard from Louisville and the player noted "I'm a Louisville fan."

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Central linebacker Patterson focus of UK's 2010 class | KentuckySports.com

Now that national signing day has come and gone, the University of Kentucky football program can start shifting its focus to 2010. The primary in-state target without question will be Central's Tim Patterson, widely considered the No. 1 in-state prospect in the junior class and one of the top linebacker recruits in the nation.

Kentucky already has four Central players on its roster: junior defensive tackle Corey Peters, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Joe Scott, and linebacker Ridge Wilson and defensive tackle Mister Cobble, who signed on Wednesday.

Central Coach Ty Scroggins said Patterson will clearly be the best of the bunch. He's been labeled as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and was the only Kentuckian on the Rivals.com early list of the nation's top 250 prospects. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Patterson was the leading tackler for Central's back-to-back state championship teams.

Scroggins said Kentucky, Louisville and Indiana have already offered, and schools such as Southern California, Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Tennessee have expressed interest.

"He's definitely a national prospect," Scroggins said.

The Wildcats are selling Patterson on replacing Micah Johnson at middle linebacker when he departs after next season, but there might be a couple of obstacles. For starters, Patterson still has some work to do in the classroom between now and next year, Scroggins said. Also, Patterson is a die-hard Louisville fan.

"His family is all Louisville fans, and he never takes a U of L shirt off," Scroggins said. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that's where he's going to go. It doesn't hurt when four guys from your high school are at Kentucky."

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courier-journal.com | Jody Demling - Recruiting blog | The Courier-Journal

Playing on the same defense as University of Kentucky signees Ridge Wilson and Mister Cobble last season, Patterson tallied 95 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, two sacks and two interceptions.

Patterson said he runs a 4.65 40-yard dash and holds scholarship offers from Kentucky, Louisville and Purdue. He said there's also serious interest from Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama and a number of other schools.

"The recruiting process is a lot of fun," Patterson said. "This is what I have been wanting to do all my life and I am trying to enjoy it all."

Patterson said he has been invited to a number of camps but isn't sure yet which ones he will attend. He's playing with the Central basketball team this month and is also playing some tight end with the Yellowjackets in 7-on-7 football competition.

A second-team member of The Courier-Journal's All-State team as a junior, Patterson is the top college prospect in Kentucky but he said he's not in a hurry to make a decision.

"I am just going to wait until the end of the season and see what happens," he said. "It wouldn't be hard to (leave the state), but I'm not sure I want to yet."