The quarterback was sitting inside an Oxford apartment with his leg immobilized, his spirits down, his future in question.



Then the coach knocked on the door. It was a man with big-time experience and an even bigger reputation, a guy known for quirks and khakis and glasses.



It was Dec. 5, and only four days earlier, Ole Miss granted Shea Patterson permission to seek a transfer.



“When the last game of the season ended,” former Ole Miss receiver Van Jefferson said this week, “Shea immediately called me and was like, ‘Dude, I think Michigan’s the move.’ ”



Since November, rumors had been flying that the talented quarterback at Ole Miss planned to transfer at the end of the year. The Mississippi program had been banned from postseason play as a result of NCAA violations. The message boards were on fire well before Patterson was allowed, by rule, to have contact with any other schools. Was he going out...