Four months ago, Matt Patchan didn't know if he would ever play football again.
The freshman took a bullet in his left shoulder on May 9 after being caught as a bystander in a shooting in a park near Tampa, his hometown.
Now, the defensive tackle looks poised to make a big impact for UF when it hosts Miami on Saturday.
This game will be plenty exciting for Patchan, who spurned the Hurricanes in favor of the Gators during his senior year in a major recruiting coup by UF. Patchan left high school as the No. 11 overall prospect, according to Rivals.com.
Many expected Patchan to be a lock to become a Hurricane because his father, Matt Patchan III, played for Miami in 1984-87 under Jimmy Johnson and alongside Vinny Testaverde. Patchan now wears No. 71 for the Gators - the same number his father wore when he played for Miami.
"That was a knock-down, drag-out, full-swing recruitment," UF coach Urban Meyer said on recruiting Patchan.
The recruiting process also churned out some verbal jabs.
Patchan made a visit to the Orange Bowl to watch Miami host Virginia in November 2007. After seeing the Hurricanes get blown out 48-0, Patchan railed on the Miami players.
"There's too many guys that it doesn't bother them that they lost the game," Patchan said at the time to CaneSport.com, an affiliate of Rivals.com. "There's too many guys now at 'The U' that [say], 'It's OK we lost. Well, what am I going to do tonight?' Like it doesn't mean anything. They need to get rid of those types of guys. Half those guys in Miami uniforms shouldn't be there - they physically don't cut it."
UF officials did not make Patchan available for comment this week.
Meyer said Monday he would try to keep Patchan's patented energy in check this week to keep him focused.
"I'm trying to keep him sheltered all week," Meyer said. "He's out of his mind to begin with."
The freshman enrolled early at UF, coming to Gainesville in January and taking the practice field by storm. Coaches originally had him pegged as an offensive lineman but quickly had him switch sides of the ball. Patchan flourished there as well and ended spring ball as a starter at defensive tackle.
The shooting ended any chance of Patchan being an opening-day starter, however.
The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder was limited in preseason camp by a pectoral muscle strain. He only began practicing full contact on Aug. 25 and played in a limited number of snaps against Hawaii.
The shooting did give Patchan a different perspective on things.
"I feel grateful for a lot of things and I know God was watching me and giving me a second chance, so I'm going to make the best of it and work as hard as I can," he said in August.
His position coach, Dan McCarney, can't stop raving about him.
"If we could bring four Matt Patchans into the program every year, if I'm guaranteed four Patchans, then I'll promise you we will be making a run at the national championship on the defensive line," McCarney said. "His motor never stops, and when you say go play relentless for the Gators, he understands that about as good as anybody we have."
