It’s not often that Oklahoma becomes the very first offer for any prospect, let alone a prospect that grew up dreaming of wearing the crimson and cream.
So when Todd Bates called Westmoore (Okla.) safety Mykel Patterson-McDonald in late January to offer him a scholarship on behalf of the Sooners, Patterson-McDonald had to pinch himself. He’d been contacted by a few college coaches and taken a few visits, but he didn’t yet have a single offer to his name two months after the conclusion of his junior season. And suddenly, it was Oklahoma — not Iowa State or Tulsa or Kansas — that became first through the wall with a scholarship.
“It didn’t feel real,” he recalled. “It didn’t feel real at first. I was just, like, shook. I was smiling; I could barely see. It started getting blurry; my eyes started getting teary. I was like, ‘Are you for real, Coach?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I’m for real. I ain’t doing this for no reason.’ And I was so blessed. I just kept saying thank you. It was a dream come true. And so after I got off the phone, I went and told my dad, and my dad just sat there and hugged me and told me he was proud of me.”
Six months to the day after he received that call from Bates, it’s no particular surprise that Patterson-McDonald is officially staying home. He announced his commitment to Oklahoma on Monday evening, picking the Sooners over fellow finalists Missouri, UNLV and Houston.
Per the Rivals recruiting rankings, the four-star prospect is regarded as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Oklahoma and the No. 27 safety in the nation. He’s the eighth commit of the month of July for Oklahoma, and the 17th total pledge of the Sooners’ 2024 class.
“I knew about two weeks ago,” said Patterson-McDonald of his decision to play at OU. “Throughout the whole thing, I was really close with UNLV. I was real close to pulling the plug and committing; it was getting there. Because the relationship I had with Coach [Damon] Magazu there, it was incredible. We have an amazing relationship. [But] I wanted to go play against the best, and OU is the best opportunity. I was able to build a really strong relationship with Coach Venables, Coach Hall, Coach Valai, Coach Roof, Coach Bates. And every time I stepped on campus, it felt like home. They treated me like I deserved to be there. And the Party at the Palace really said it. That’s when I committed.”
Now that he’s on board with Oklahoma, Patterson-McDonald’s focus shifts to the recruitment of one of his closest friends. Five-star defensive lineman David Stone is a longtime comrade and former teammate, and Patterson-McDonald is doing all he can to make sure the nation’s top defensive tackle picks the Sooners on August 26. But whether or not Stone comes home to the University of Oklahoma, Patterson-McDonald is encouraged by the direction of the Sooners’ 2024 recruiting class as a whole.
“Stone… that’s something right there,” he laughed. “It’s a hard piece to work on. But I’m getting there. I’m nudging a little bit; not too much, because I don’t want to bother him too much. I think we can do some big things with this class, definitely. It’s a lot of potential in this class.”
And as he prepares for his senior season at Westmoore, Patterson-McDonald knows he’s got to ramp up his regimen in order to prepare for what awaits him in Norman. He racked up 108 tackles and four interceptions as a junior, but it’s not just on-field production that he’d like to improve by year’s end.
“What’s next for me is, when I step foot on campus, be ready to work,” he remarked. “Because I know Schmitty gonna do it to me. I gotta prepare myself; I gotta get all the way into shape. I gotta start putting on more weight. I don’t want to get behind. So I plan on that, and hopefully get on the field and get a little playing time my freshman year. I don’t want to redshirt.”
Patterson-McDonald joins fellow blue-chippers Jeremiah Newcombe and Jaydan Hardy in the Sooners’ 2024 secondary haul, and says he plans to wait to enroll until next June in order to run track next spring.
