Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

UNLV defense led by field general Patton

SCOTT PATTON knows what it takes to excel in two sports. He has witnessed it up close.

At 19, he strolled around the baseball diamond at the Chicago White Sox's spring-training facility. He was a touted rookie outfielder, a fourth-round draft pick.

Although he worked out with the other minor leaguers, he occasionally would stop and watch the big boys -- guys like Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson -- make it all look so easy.

A couple of years later, Patton found himself in the presence of greatness again. But this one did not make it look easy. Patton worked out with Michael Jordan, who was making an awkward attempt at becoming a baseball player.

He saw several players who either were or could have been great in other sports making a full-time effort to play baseball. Thomas and Jackson were college football teammates at Auburn. Thomas was an NFL tight end prospect, Jackson a Heisman Trophy winner and star running back for the Los Angeles Raiders. Jordan was -- and still is -- Jordan.

But Patton was having trouble understanding their desire to play baseball.

"I just felt baseball and the whole situation with the minor leagues wasn't for me," said Patton, now 23 and a senior linebacker at UNLV. "I wasn't happy.

"You're at the ballfield seven hours a day, it's a long grind, you're away from home, the long bus rides ... it got to be a real strain to go to the ballpark, and that's not the way I wanted to keep things going. I wasn't able to progress with my attitude the way it was."

Patton wasn't exactly struggling when he became disenfranchised. He was hitting .300 with one home run and six RBIs after 11 games with Class A Hickory, N.C., when he quit in 1994, his third and final pro season.

"I might have stuck it out a little bit longer if I didn't have football to fall back on," Patton said.

So he went to Saddleback Junior College in Mission Viejo, Calif., to become a football player. He turned into a juco All-American and eventually landed at UNLV.

"Scott is the steadying influence on our defense," defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "His teammates know he comes to play every day."

Patton has accumulated 58 tackles in four games, including a jaw-dropping 22 in the season opener at Nevada-Reno. The son of former Notre Dame linebacker Eric Patton needs to average only 11.3 tackles to break UNLV's season record of 137, achieved by Jason Medlock in 1993.

"I don't think it's just me doing that," Patton said of his record chase. "I think the scheme Coach McNeill brought in allows me to be freed up a lot. He expects me to make a lot, if not the most, tackles on the team.

"But I think I've had a good career here at UNLV. I'm satisfied with everything I've achieved athletically. I've done everything I could have."

But Patton doesn't plan on playing in the NFL.

"Too many things are stacked against me: height, speed, weight. And even if you do have those things, it's difficult."

UNLV's football media guide lists Patton at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds. He claims he is 6-foot, 220 pounds. The NFL measured him at 5-11 1/2.

"Those things only work against you when you're trying to attract the scouts," Patton said. "College football is full of guys that are underheight, underweight and lack speed. But in the NFL, no one is."

Patton showed a little of his 4.7-second, 40-yard-dash speed when he intercepted a pass against Illinois State last Saturday and sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown.

He is having no trouble staying enthusiastic about the Rebels, who are 2-2 entering Saturday's 7:15 p.m. game at Southern Cal.

"It's a really a good feeling with what's going on with the team," he said. "Our confidence level is much higher than last year, and guys are playing better individually and extremely better as a team. The guys are counting on each other. There's trust."

Patton's goal is to qualify for a bowl game in his final season.

"We don't care where," he said.

Patton does wonder about what might have happened if he remained in baseball. He keeps a Topps baseball card -- promoting him as a major-league prospect -- as a reminder.

"I don't look back on (baseball) and say 'God, I really messed up going to play baseball out of high school,'" he said. "But I don't look back and analyze the situation too much. I gotta move on.

"Sometimes I look on the White Sox and see guys I played with or knew within the organization, and sometimes I sit back and think 'What if?' But I'm happy with the decisions I've made."

Extra points

* DENTON DUBBED: Rebel quarterback Jon Denton was named the WAC Pacific Division offensive player of the week Monday. Denton completed 21 of 30 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns in UNLV's 41-6 homecoming victory over Illinois State. The Green Valley High grad did not throw an interception and also ran for 32 yards. It was the first time in five weeks a UNLV player had been nominated for the award. Kicker Tim O'Reilly also was nominated for special teams.

* BEAT THE SPREAD: The Rebels continue to perform better than the wise guys and number crunchers give them credit for. In each of their four games, they have covered the spread. They were favored by 25 points over ISU and won by 35. The underground line considers Southern Cal a 27-point favorite to beat UNLV, while the Scripps Howard power ratings calculate USC as a 20-point favorite.

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