KNOXVILLE – Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson will take part in the 2013 All-Star Football Challenge set to be held at Cowboys Stadium during Super Bowl weekend. The event will premiere on ESPN2 from 10-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 and re-air on the same channel on Feb. 3 and Feb. 17 and on ESPN on April 14.
The All-Star Football Challenge allows college football’s brightest stars to compete in a series of high-energy skills competitions and will put their individual talents on display before the NFL Draft.
A native of Rock Hill, S.C., Patterson played one season for Tennessee, starting all 12 games and setting the school record for all-purpose yardage with 1,873 total yards. He earned First Team All-SEC honors from both league coaches and the Associated Press as the all-purpose player and All-SEC Second Team accolades from league coaches as the return specialist.
Patterson caught 46 passes for 778 yards and five touchdowns while rushing 25 times for 323 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned four punts for 101 yards and one touchdown and 24 kickoffs for 671 yards and a touchdown. Patterson scored a touchdown via kickoff return, punt return, receiving, and rushing, joining Carl Pickens (receiving, KR, PR, INT) as the only players in Tennessee history to score a touchdown four different ways in a career. Patterson is one of three Vols to score via both kickoff and punt return in the same season and one of only four to do so in a UT career, and his 275 all-purpose yards against Mississippi State in 2012 are the second-most in a game in school history.
In the 14-year history of the program, the All-Star Football Challenge has played host to 46 first-round draft picks. Past participants include Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Santana Moss, Vince Young, Vernon Davis, Donovan McNabb, Edgerrin James, Von Miller and many others.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)