Michigan Panthers take ex-Wolverines QB Shea Patterson No. 1 overall in USFL Draft

When the Michigan Panthers won the USFL's first championship in 1983, they were led by a University of Michigan product in All-American wide receiver Anthony Carter.

Nearly four decades later, the Panthers are going back to what worked the first time.

With the first overall pick in the 2022 USFL Draft on Tuesday night, the Panthers selected former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson to fill out the most important component of their roster.

Patterson played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Michigan, where he started 26 games for the Wolverines in 2018-19. 

Over those two seasons, Patterson became just the third Michigan quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season (John Navarre and Jake Rudock the others) and was third-team All-Big Ten twice while leading Michigan to a 19-7 record.

He spent his 2021 season with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, where he served as a backup.

Teams were required to draft a quarterback in Round 1 and will be required to select players from a specific position pool throughout the draft in an effort from the league to impose parity.In round 12, Michigan took Paxton Lynch of Memphis.

On Day One of the two-day draft, teams will select edge rushers (rounds 2-4), offensive tackles (5-7), cornerbacks (8-11) and another round of quarterbacks (12) will close things out. All other positions will be selected in rounds 13-35, which are set to take place Wednesday night.

There are a few exceptions: The Panthers, for example, traded the chance at another position group to take an extra offensive tackle in the seventh round when they grabbed Joshua Taylor from Mississippi Valley State.

The draft is not being televised, but rather, picks are being announced via the team's social media channels through videos from local legends. The Michigan Panthers' selection was made by NASCAR driver and Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski.

Patterson's University of Michigan teammate Carlo Kemp (EDGE) was selected in the second round by the Pittsburgh Maulers. 

Day one

In the second round, former Wolverine Carlo Kemp was selected by the Pittsburgh Maulers. The Panthers selected Utah State's Adewale Adeoye.

In the third round, Michigan took Maryland's Cavon Walker.

In the fourth round Western Michigan's Eric Assoua was taken by the Maulers. The Panthers selected Chase DeMoor of Central Washington.

In round five, Michigan took Colorado State's Keith Williams.

In the sixth round, the Panthers selected New Mexico's Teton Saltes.

In the seventh round, the Panthers took USTA's Joshua Dunlap.

In round eight, Michigan drafted Maryland's Tino Ellis.

In round nine, the Panthers selected Baylor's Jameson Houston.

In the 10th round, Michigan took Tarleton State's Dominique Martin.

In the 11th round, the Panthers took New Mexico's Jalin Burrell.

In the 12th round, Michigan selected Paxton Lynch of Memphis.