When GoBlueWolverine spoke with Flint Carman Ainsworth LB Quintin Patilla on the sideline of the Michigan high school All-Star game last weekend,
his excitement over his commitment to the Wolverines in the weeks previous still
had not worn off. In this instance, the Michigan coaching staff did not have
to do much selling. In Patilla's mind, he wonders why anyone would turn down
the opportunity to wear the winged helmet.
This young man's quick rise from unknown prospect to Wolverine commitment was
a bit unexpected. Because of that, it has drawn a host of doubters to the forefront.
In a recent scrimmage against Detroit Redford, a few of the Husky players expressed
those doubts on the field. Various fans from various schools have also expressed
them on the internet. To combat all of the naysayers, Patilla plans to let his
play do the talking. "The Redford scrimmage was going real well,"
he said. "After I made a couple of big plays, they started to ask me what
schools were looking at me. I told them that I'm going to Michigan. After that
they started talking a lot of junk and delivering a few cheap shots. They even
put a couple cheap shots on a few of my teammates. When I got on defense I had
to lay a couple of dudes out to send a message. All on the internet people talk
junk too. They say they don't understand why Michigan picked me up. Others wonder
why I didn't go with Otis Wiley to State. The way I see it, I worked hard. My
boy Otis did his thing, and I'm going to do mine. It just so happens that Michigan
pulled my card. This is where I wanted to be at since I was a little kid. This
has been my dream. Standing out here on the field, I'm getting goose bumps…and
I'm not even playing! This is I'd rather be at. Even if I had gone there (to
Michigan State), this would have still been my team. I love Michigan. I'm just
going to go out and play football."
Quintin and future teammate Antonio Bass
The "haters" have done nothing to dampen Patilla's enthusiasm or
spirit. The criticisms that he doesn't find comical are just used as motivation.
Hardly anything could bring him down now that he knows he will be donning the
winged helmet in a little over a year. That much was evident as he stood on
the Big House sideline last Saturday. "It is real exciting to be here,"
said Patilla. "I've been trying to get in touch of coach Carr since I've
been here, but I think he is out of town. Back home I've been trying to get
in touch with some of the other commitments like Brandon Graham and David Cone.
I haven't been able to get their phone numbers to talk to them yet. I'd especially
like to talk to B. Graham. He is only an hour away. Maybe we can hook up and
have a couple of practice sessions just to get to know each other. We know that
as incoming freshmen it's going to be hard. Nothing is going to come easy for
us."
As much as Patilla looks forward to his college days in Ann Arbor, his primary
focus is currently on his high school team. The two-way star has big plans for
Carman Ainsworth this season. "I've been working out and getting better
with my team," Patilla said. I think we can play at Ford field and win
a state championship. That's another dream. We were 6-4 last year. We're going
to be better this season though. We're missing Otis, but we're filling his shoes.
We've got some big guys coming on defense. I think we're going to surprise some
people!"
GoBlueWolverine Subscribers can check out Quintin's highlight videos below:
Patilla scouting
video 1
Patilla scouting
video 2
Patilla scouting
video 3