Michigan's Patterson: Leaving Ole Miss taught me college football is 'a business'

One season with a bowl ban was manageable, but once Ole Miss was declared ineligible for postseason play for a second straight year, Shea Patterson knew it was time to leave.

The star quarterback transferred to Michigan in December, and was recently ruled eligible after the NCAA and the two schools worked out an agreement.

Now on board with the Wolverines, Patterson said he was "told for so long that there was no way" the Rebels would receive a 2018 bowl ban.

"Some things were left unsaid (about the NCAA investigation) that we didn't know about," Patterson told Edward Aschoff of ESPN. "They didn't think we were going to get the two-year bowl ban. At the end of the day, I wanted to do what was best for me and my career.

"I've learned that it's a business, and there's nothing wrong with that."

When Patterson made his original request to be eligible to play this season, Ole Miss officials didn't support him, instead denying his claim that former coach Hugh Freeze lied to him and other Rebels players about how severe the school's potential punishment from the NCAA would be. In April, the NCAA waived its rule on non-graduate transfers for Patterson, and the two schools later collaborated on a waiver request.

Playing for former NFL quarterback and coach Jim Harbaugh is a positive step in preparing the former five-star recruit for the professional level, but Patterson again pointed to his desire to play for a championship as the main reason for the move.

"I can deal with having a chance of not getting (to a national championship), but not having a chance at all, I can't deal with that," Patterson said. "I put myself in the best situation to succeed and have a better college career."

Not only will Patterson's uniform look drastically different this fall, but the number on his jersey will too. After wearing No. 20 with the Rebels as a tribute to his grandfather, the pivot will wear No. 2 in the maize and blue when the season kicks off versus Notre Dame on Sept. 1.