Ole Miss chooses to object to Shea Patterson’s waiver appeal

Shea Patterson is still awaiting word on if his transfer appeal to play immediately at the University of Michigan is going to be approved by the NCAA, but his old friends at Ole Miss are not going to lay down without fighting it.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports spoke to Patterson’s attorney, Thomas Mars, about where things stand in the saga. Ole Miss is formally objecting to the conditions that were described that led to the quarterback’s transfer away from the program, which is dealing with an NCAA scandal and sanctions that came from it.

The objection recently sent to the NCAA could impact Patterson’s ongoing transfer waiver appeal as he is looking to immediately become eligible to play for Michigan in 2018. The objection is part of a response delivered to the NCAA last month, according to attorney Thomas Mars.

Patterson is seeking a waiver of the NCAA’s traditional year-in-residence rule for transfers before becoming eligible. The approval of such a waiver would presumably have a significant impact on the Wolverines’ 2018 season.

”Whoever wrote that response for Ole Miss either wasn’t paying attention last year or had a case of selective amnesia,” Mars said.

Ole Miss has issues with how its former quarterback portrayed his reasons for transferring after the Rebels were put on NCAA probation late last year, sources said.

Patterson’s camp is arguing that he was misled at the scope of the NCAA’s investigation into the Ole Miss football program during his recruitment, which ultimately led to his commitment to the school.

In fact, they have been described as a “a flat-out, deliberate lie.”

Michigan submitted the paperwork for Patterson’s appeal in late February and, as a courtesy to Ole Miss, sent to them as well. However, because it came from Michigan and not the NCAA, the 10-day review period did not begin.

Once Ole Miss was given the chance to review and make a decision, they sent it back to the NCAA and it was received on Mar. 28 on the last possible day they could respond.

Listen, this is not much of a surprise. Michigan’s recent battles with the SEC have Ole Miss’ camp and their petty out in full force. They were going to drag this out and be a pain in the ass about it because not only is their program in shambles, but they were losing a five-star quarterback in the process.

This should be an open and shut case, but the NCAA is NCAA-ing the holy hell out of this. Their processes make an afternoon at the Secretary of State look like a quick trip for milk and a carton of eggs at the grocery store.

Those in the know and people we have talked to close to the situation believe Patterson will be eligible this upcoming season. Plus, he is still enrolled at Michigan so he is taking classes and practicing with the team this spring and will be on the field Saturday.

This is a nuisance, but it is not all that surprising.

Michigan fans seem to be waiting on news on this front to get excited for football. The Amazon series has some people feeling better about the year, but Patterson officially being freed could send the hype machine back into commission.