Watson saw first-hand what Patti can do
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Pitt’s schedule this past fall didn’t allow Shawn Watson many opportunities to watch his future quarterback play live. Finally, on Nov. 4, Watson and tight ends coach Tim Salem were able to take in a St. Joseph Regional game for an up-close look at quarterback commit Nick Patti and his teammate, tight end commit Matt Alaimo.
Watson had seen the film on Patti. He had watched him throw and knew what his mechanics and athleticism were like. But he hadn’t seen him in a game yet, so on the first Saturday in November, he headed out to New Jersey to watch the Green Knights in person against DePaul Catholic.
For the veteran offensive coordinator, seeing Patti in a game setting was a key part of the recruiting process, even though Patti had been committed for nearly six months at that point.
“You know, (on film) you see a skill set, you see decision-making, you see talent, arm talent, foot talent, legs, athleticism, etc,” Watson said on Signing Day Wednesday. “What you don’t see is the competiveness. That is the most competitive dude I’ve seen in a long time.”
Initially, it looked like Watson and Salem were at the wrong game. St. Joe’s took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but the momentum quickly shifted to DePaul. After three quarters, the Green Knights were trailing 21-6, seeming to be on the verge of suffering their first loss to DePaul in more than 40 years.
With a two-score deficit, the St. Joe’s coaches decided it was time to put the game in the hands of their starting quarterback. Patti had attempted 18 passes through the first three quarters, completing just six of them for 48 yards and an interception. But in the fourth quarter, the future Pitt quarterback put on a show.
After St. Joe’s recovered a fumble, Patti led a 92-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Alaimo. Then, after the Green Knights’ defense forced a three-and-out, Patti took over again, completing a 51-yard pass before his offense ran into a fourth-and-8 from the DePaul 13.
"I was looking downfield - I kind of panicked a little bit knowing it was fourth-and-eight," Patti told NJ.com after the game. "I looked down and I saw a little room to run and, originally, I just wanted to get the first down and get down. I saw the corner bail out back with the receiver and not come up with me and I just saw the seam and I took it to the corner of the end zone."
As in, Patti ran the ball to the corner of the end zone, scoring a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21.
Patti and the offense did it one more time after that, mounting a nine-play, 60-yard drive to win the game. In the fourth quarter, Patti had thrown for 152 yards and one touchdown - plus a two-point conversion - on 8-of-12 passing and rushed for a 13-yard touchdown.
"That's what Patti does," St. Joe’s running back Isaiah Hopkinson told NJ.com. "He always finds a way and will find a way. He's very smart and he knows he's not perfect - he's going to make mistakes - but he never holds his head down and always finds a way to bounce back."
And that was what Watson saw that night in New Jersey.
“When I’m standing there at that game and I’m watching him and I’m watching what he did for his team to create the win - it was very impressive,” Watson said. “He willed his team to a win, which is the leadership aspect of quarterback play that’s an intangible, that unless you go and see, you don’t truly get. So I was very thankful to have that opportunity and been to that type of game.”
The Green Knights went 8-4 this season, and that victory over DePaul wasn’t the first time Patti led a game-winning effort. A month earlier, St. Joe’s was trailing New Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco 15-10 with 1:44 left on the clock, no timeouts and the ball at the 20. Patti responded by completing 6-of-9 passes to gain every one of those 80 yards, including a 15-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Alaimo.
“He willed his team in adverse situations to wins,” Watson said. “They had a very extraordinary year; they battled to a lot of wins at the end of games. I would hear about them and I would see the film version of them, but I didn’t get the emotional part of it.”
Over the course of Patti’s three years leading St. Joe’s, the Green Knights won three state championships and posted a 27-10 record. He passed for nearly 4,600 yards and 43 touchdowns in those three years, including 2,039 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior in 2017. Patti also rushed for six touchdowns this past season.
“I love Nick because he’s a very detailed thinker,” Watson said. “The game is slow for him. He can discern a lot of information and make it simple in his head and he can execute. He puts his work on film.”