Former Arizona Western College 4-star tight end Jeremy Patton was one of Arkansas' prizes in the past recruiting class. Patton arrived later in the summer than maybe intended due to taking care of some requirements needed to get his degree so he could play for the Hogs.

Jeremy Patton" width="620" height="320" /> Jeremy Patton is hoping to make an impact at Arkansas this season.

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But Patton is now at Arkansas and is practicing hard on the field and studying film and the play book when not in practice. How is it going now?

Oh man, it's great to be here," Patton said. "The offense is really coming along well for me. I'm starting to pick up on things, pick up on my conditioning a little it. I'm really having fun out there."

For Patton there's many reasons he loves being in Fayetteville, but not all are the common thing one would think.

"It's a blessing to be here," Patton said. "I come from a place where I didn't even have a bed to sleep on and now to be here with all of this, it's an extreme blessing. It's great."

Why didn't you have a bed?

"In Indianapolis back at home," Patton said. "I come from a troubled family."

Patton has moved around so adapting to Arkansas has been much easier for him.

"I lived in Florida for six years," Patton said. "I was born in Indianapolis. Moved at the age of five to Kissimmee, Fla. Lived in Apopka, for a little bit, really rough neighborhood. Kinda bounced around schools a lot. Came back to Indiana and bounced around schools a lot. Then went out to Arizona. I spent some time in Kentucky as well, working on log cabins. So I've been around."

What about log cabins?

"I was out there with my brother and his stepdad," Patton said. "It was summer in Kentucky, the summer before I went to Arizona Western. I really wasn't doing any technical work. Me and my buddy were just lugging the logs around, doing the heavy work for the guys."

Do you feel like it set you back some not being here earlier?

Oh yeah, of course, yeah," Patton said. "You miss out on so much, bonding with teammates and learning the coaches and feeling out the system in the spring. I think it's a little less urgent to learn in the spring so you can kind of take your time with it a little bit. So that would have helped me a lot. But I'm picking it up, the ball's rolling now, so yeah, I think I'm going to be well off.

So you feel a sense of urgency to learn everything and show the coaches what you can do so you have a chance to play early?

"For sure," Patton said. "Me personally I'm an urgent guy. I'm not going to sit around and not do anything to get better. You know I was in here early in days learning with Coach (Barry) Lunney (Jr.) and trying to get everything together."

Lunney has been impressed with how Patton has come in and catching up fast.

"Doing well," Lunney said. "He's doing a good job. He's very tuned in, very hungry and very capable. Those are all good qualities."

Patton feels everything is coming along at a nice pace despite the late start.'

"I can't really speak for anything else but me, but I think the playbook is coming along well," Patton said. "I feel like I'm learning things and I'm in a groove when I'm out there. I know what to do. I'm starting to play faster. I think it's going along really well for me."

How big relief was it to finally get here?

"It was like the biggest weight had been lifted off my shoulders," Patton said. "Man, yeah, day one since I got here the ball started rolling and everything was great. It was definitely a relief."

What exactly was it that was causing the delay?

"It was class," Patton said. "So I ended up having to switch my degree at the end. And I needed to take one more class. So I ended up taking that class in the first session of summer. It was Speech Communication, really not a very hard, difficult class.

Did you know you needed that class?

"I was caught off guard by it," Patton said. "I did not know I needed it. Once I did it, I ended up talking to the teacher. The class was supposed to be going on. I got all of my work done early and got out of there early."

Arkansas has a lot of tight ends. Is there enough time out there for everyone?

"We've got a good rotation going now at practice," Patton said. "Nothing's really set yet. We've got a lot of talent in that group. It's going to be up to the top four or five guys to fight and compete and earn them two spots."

During the recruiting, Lunney made several trips to see you and Bret Bielema came when NCAA rules allow.

"Oh man, that's half the reason I'm here right now," Patton said. "The love and the support those guys showed me throughout my whole process. Man, them two. Coach Lunney is the reason why I'm here I would say right now. And the scheme of the offense that Coach B runs. Coach Lunney, he genuinely cares and that's something I take to heart."

During Wednesday's open portion of practice, Patton limped off the field. He talked about that following the practice.

"It's just a hip flexor," Patton said. "Nothing too major you know. I'll get it rehabbed and be back in it tomorrow."

How helpful have the other tight ends as far as helping teach you the plays and stuff?

"They're my brothers," Patton said. "We look at it as friendly competition, so there's no animosity between one another. You've got Jack Kraus, who's a great leader. A great leader. And you've got Austin Cantrell, who leads by his play. We all get along well. they've helped me so much. They're telling me the right things to do and how to do it. They're good guys."

You are from Indiana, but played in Arizona. How is the weather here and your thoughts on it?

Oh man, it's not even," Patton said. "No, it's not that hot. I can deal with this. I can definitely live with this any day. My first day flying into Yuma, I left on a July day and it was 84 degrees in Indianapolis. I remember specifically. I got to Yuma and it was 121 with 30 mph winds. It felt like I was in a microwave outside. That was surreal, so far away from home. Man, that was tough."

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