Patterson likely to forego redshirt

Daymond Patterson, a true freshman who practiced Friday as the No. 1 punt returner and a second-string receiver, is in position to play immediately, Mangino said Friday.

"He has the kind of speed that can change a game around," Mangino said. "He’s still learning. He’s picking up things. But I have to say that he’s a good student of the game. ... So he’s putting himself in position where he’s going to play."

Punt returning was widely considered the team’s biggest weakness a season ago, and the addition of Patterson — who earned first-team all-Texas honors as a kick returner at North Mesquite High School — might prove to be a solution to the problem.