The Quinton Patton Tank of Truth

Originally posted by gold49digger:
Kind of sad that some of us are more excited about our 4th round receiver than our 1st last year

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Good article on Patton from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel


http://www.jsonline.com/sports/nfl-draft-prospect-patton-has-gift-of-gab-grab-g39egel-201718781.html


He's definitely got some of that Chad Johnson/Richard Sherman type exuberance in him.

Quinton Patton couldn't help himself. He never can. When Louisiana Tech took the field for warm-ups at Illinois last fall, Patton spotted a group of recruits. They looked so hopeful, so impressionable, so excited to enroll at Illinois. For Patton, they were fresh meat. The wide receiver trotted by and did what he does best. Talk.

"Hey," he told them, "I wouldn't commit here after this game."

The recruits were in shock initially and then laughed. Patton can't remember if any players or coaches from Illinois heard him. Heck, "I really didn't care," he said. Such digs have one purpose - to jack up Patton himself. In a 52-24 win, he torched Illinois for 164 yards on six receptions with two scores.

"That's when you really have to back it up," Patton said. "When you say something like that, you really have to back it up."

This is life in Quinton Patton's world. Have fun, talk smack, back it up. Now, NFL teams are trying to crack the code. He's this spring's most eccentric, yet magnetic wide receiver. At the NFL scouting combine, Patton emphatically declared himself the best wide receiver in the draft. In case you're wondering, his opinion hasn't changed.

Is it confidence? Is it arrogance? Patton rides the fine line, embraces that fine line. He's 6 foot, 205 pounds of blatant bravado. Unburdened by political correctness, he wants to be the next Chad Johnson. Not Chad Ochocinco, he assures. Chad Johnson.

In his prime - talking and dancing and producing - Johnson's bark had bite.

"I loved his whole demeanor, how he carried himself into the game, everything," Patton said. "He talked. But he backed it up at the same time. For a 10-year span, he was one of the best receivers in the game. Week in and week out, he'd get it done. He'd talk and get it done.

"I talk a little bit. Sometimes more than I need to. But at the end of the day, I shut up and get it done."

So who is Quinton Patton? He's a guy who loves baking cookies and brownies at any hour. Cooking - not football - is how to win a woman's heart, he says. Patton is still mad at his roommate for eating his cookies in the middle of the night. He's a guy who loves the TV show, "24." Patton is enamored by Jack Bauer's ability to escape any jam. "I don't know how," Patton said, "but he always gets out!"

And he's a guy who talks, and talks.

When Rob Likens first met Patton, he thought the receiver took it too far. The Louisiana Tech assistant head coach / wide receivers coach, who is now at California, had the same, mystifying first impression teammates did.

Dude, shut up.

"This guy hadn't done anything and he's coming in here, talking and all that," Likens said. "When I spent every day with him, he's like that every second he's awake. He's just energetic. He's like that in the lunchroom, he's like that everywhere."

Patton's future roommate felt the same way. Wide receiver Myles White is from Livonia, Mich. Up north, people are more laidback, reserved, he says. White wasn't used to an unapologetic swagger. Patton was loud, obnoxious. White would often ask, "Why are you yelling for no reason?"

"At first, I said 'He talks too much,' " White said. "After you get to know him, you see it's his personality. Not just a show."

In two years at the school, Patton was a highlight factory. He finished with 183 receptions for 2,594 yards and 24 touchdowns. A breakout week at the Senior Bowl proved Patton could succeed against higher competition. Now, he projects as a second-round pick.

Patton did talk to the Green Bay Packers at the Senior Bowl and the combine. The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, have shown serious interest since last year. All teams are doing their homework. Likens fielded the same questions repeatedly.

You may like him. You may not. Likens gets it. But the coach always tells teams that if you spend time with Patton, they'll understand it's not arrogance.

"Quinton does a lot of talking. He talks a lot," Likens said. "And if you don't like him talking, just walk up to him and say, 'Quinton, shut up!' He's always going to talk but it's not in negativity. It's not arrogance. It's a really good confidence."

Patton describes himself as "fun," as "entertaining," as someone who's "not going to give out, give in, give up, never." Again, Patton declared himself the best wide receiver in the draft.

Trash talking? Likens said Patton "talks trash going through the McDonalds drive-through." When Patton first transferred to Louisiana Tech from Coffeyville Community College (Kan.), defensive players couldn't stand him. Now, players are calling Likens, saying they miss Patton's energy. He was a shot of 5-hour ENERGY for the entire team, daily.

Not that Likens' blood didn't boil. One practice, the coach was high-strung, on edge, about to lose it. Patton realized this and pounced.

Discreetly, Patton threw a football at his coach's back and pretended somebody else did it.

"He was joking around but I got really pissed," Likens said. "I got mad at him. He knew it and was just joking around. He still thinks it's really funny."

He does. When that story comes up, Patton laughs an evil-genius laugh.

During games, he feeds off the cornerback. As soon as the corner talks, he talks. That was the case against Texas A&M. Patton won't repeat what he said - it's not suitable for the public. Whatever he said, it worked. Patton caught 21 passes for 233 yards with four touchdowns in a 59-57 loss.

When Louisiana Tech trailed by 27 points, Likens remembers Patton patrolling the sideline.

"He's just on the sideline smiling," Likens said. "He's saying, 'It's no problem guys. I'm fixing to go off. Everybody stay in it.' And he did."

Added White, "It's definitely not an arrogance. 'Q' is not a selfish person at all. It's just his personality. He's a funny dude. A clown, really."

It's on Patton to manage the fine line. From afar, he admired the Chad Johnson-turned-Ochocinco that kept a list of cornerbacks on his locker, checking off names one by one, the player who proposed to cheerleaders, putted footballs with pylons and always backed it up.

"He made the game fun and exciting," Patton said. "With his game, it didn't matter what was going on in the world. That was his sanctuary. That's where he could be himself. That's how I feel on the field."

Patton knows there are limits, saying Johnson "took it overboard" as Ochocinco. The act got old. To this day, Likens still plants the seed in Patton's head. He wants "Q" to be "Q." But in the pros, don't push it.

Maybe some NFL teams don't trust Patton with this. Some will be wary, reluctant to bring a free spirit into the locker room. Patton isn't worried. He realizes his style won't make everyone happy.

And that's fine by him.

Said Patton, "I'm going to be me regardless."

Originally posted by Whomeam:
"He's a guy who loves the TV show, "24." Patton is enamored by Jack Bauer's ability to escape any jam. "I don't know how," Patton said, "but he always gets out!""

Well we now know why Harbaugh likes him so much.

Originally posted by blapstar:
Would love to hear him mic'd up talking smack with Sherman haha

Originally posted by btthepunk:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
Were Ravens Planning To Draft WR Quinton Patton?

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
Were Ravens Planning To Draft WR Quinton Patton?

Mellette will be a hell of a Wr for Baltimore.

Originally posted by LieutKaffee:

Originally posted by IdahoNiner:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
Were Ravens Planning To Draft WR Quinton Patton?

Mellette will be a hell of a Wr for Baltimore.

Newsome's lyin'! Are their top two WRs really Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones (I'm trying to recall without cheating)? Hard to believe they didn't want to address WR before the 7th round. You think it's an accident we took Patton before Lattimore?

IdahoNiner may have a point. Mellette was a Zone favorite around here as a height/weight/speed guy from a tiny school. Could become a nice player.