From getting trucked to doing it all, Sequel Patterson enters last year at Indian Land
Rodriguez Patterson knew his 6-year-old kid was special while his son was lying on the ground motionless.
Sequel Patterson was playing kids ages 7 and up when he started tackle football early and left flag football behind. He quickly became the quarterback on a team called the Ravens. During his first season, the Ravens went to their league’s Super Bowl.
Nearing the end of the championship game, Patterson’s team needed a first down. The Ravens had to keep the clock rolling to win. But the Ravens were missing two older players who had been tackled by the same player on the other team. That player hit opponents so hard that many were scared to return to the field. Not Patterson though.
With the game on the line, Patterson ran the ball outside. He didn’t make it far. He was trucked by the same kid. He laid there for a while. Rodriguez stood over his son, checking on him and asking if he was alright. The young player said the tackle didn’t hurt. The Ravens won the Super Bowl.
“From there, (my dad) said he knew I was gonna be good,” Patterson said.
It’s become the story the family loves to tell. It’s a sign of the future stardom the Pattersons caught early.
Now, a decade later, it’s become a sort of fulfillment. Patterson is a 6-foot, 175-pound utilityman ranked as the No. 4 recruit in South Carolina and top-200 in the country in the class of 2026. He will join the South Carolina Gamecocks next year.
Patterson, 17, is entering his last year at Indian Land High School in Fort Mill, S.C, after reclassing.
The four-star has seen action at wide receiver, cornerback and quarterback. He carried the ball last season 76 times for 441 yards, caught 52 passes for 758 yards and passed for 160 yards. Between the three positions, he has recorded 16 touchdowns. He also contributed 23 tackles, eight pass break ups and two interceptions.
And this success was forged by continuing to take the same chances he did when he was 6 years old.
“I kind of have no room to fail,” Patterson said. “It’s either do it or do it.”
In eighth grade, Patterson uprooted his entire life in Charlotte to play South Carolina football. The change was only 20 miles, but it meant leaving behind everything familiar.
Along with the move, Patterson was “thrown into the fire.”
He admits he isn’t the biggest player in the world. Sometimes he can get caught up in comparing himself to others. It led to some self-doubt when he was younger. Still, his coaches asked a lot of him, even if he thought he couldn’t do what they wanted him to.
Somehow, he always did it, and then some.
As a freshman, he played quarterback, wide receiver and safety. He kicked field goals. He punted.
“He does everything for us,” head coach Adam Hastings said.
Eventually, he stopped worrying about meeting expectations and began going beyond them.
At one point, Indian Land’s running back suffered an injury during a game. Patterson told Hastings he could play running back. He rushed for 170 yards a week later.
“It was really kind of a snapshot of somebody who has fantastic physical attributes, but really has leadership and a grit and a determination to try to win that’s special,” Hastings said. “That’s why you get those guys every 10, 20, 30 years.”
Patterson had to learn to be a part of a team that now cannot imagine being without him.
He’s featured in every play. Hastings has two sons who are 6 and 12. Patterson is their favorite player.
And now that he’s embedded in Indian Land, Patterson’s mission for the season is bigger than before. Sure, he wants to win games, but he also wants to leave an impact on the younger players, who may have some of the same early fears as him.
“When people think of Sequel, I want it to be positive no matter what it is,” Patterson said, before later adding, “So, I think people knowing that I left Indian Land better than it was when I came, I think that would be good for me.”
He’s ready to give everything to Indian Land one last time.
