Sulphur senior Damontre Patterson didn’t always have his sight set on playing college football.
In fact, he originally wanted to play basketball.
“My first goal was honestly to go play college basketball and go to the NBA,” Patterson said.
But he got involved with football and now, Patterson is playing a different sport than the one he dreamed of at the next level.
Last week, Patterson signed his letter of intent with the University of New Hampshire, inking his commitment to the D-1 program in the northeast United States.
The senior will play wide receiver for the Wildcats, who play in the Colonial Athletic Association of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
Patterson found his love for football with local trainer, Sean Cooper, of C4 Sports Performance and Fitness in Durant and the rest is history.
“My brother was in a training and 7-on-7 program called C4 for football and the owner of it named Sean Cooper got me to join,” he said. “I went to one camp, got ranked and ever since then I just have always stuck with football.”
Patterson saw some interest start rolling in quickly after getting noticed.
“With the help of Coach Cooper, I started getting noticed more and then the offers started rolling in,” he said.
Patterson arrived at Sulphur last year from Ada, but was in Elmore City before that, as he wanted to get closer to family but stay competing at a high enough level.
“I wanted to move to Sulphur for my senior year to get closer to my family that lives in Wynnewood and still play for a bigger class,” he said.
This season at sulphur was good we had a rough start but I think us losing in the beginning really brought us together to be able to overcome all the adversity we faced throughout the season.
Patterson helped the Dogs on both sides of the ball this year, as he was a threat at receiver and was a key defender at corner in the secondary.
He finished the year with 21 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups on defense and was named to the Class 3A-2 All-District team as a defensive back.
Offensively, Patterson had 26 catches for 505 yards and five touchdowns.
Patterson will compete for Sulphur in track this offseason, as he looks to repeat as the Class 4A state champ in the 100 meter.
“This year I wanna get my 100 meter time down to a 10.3 or 10.2,” he said. “That will really get coaches attention and it will show I have the speed to do anything around the field at the next level.”
Patterson will then shift his focus to training at C4 before heading up to New Hampshire.
“During the off season I always go up to C4 and train with Sean to work on what I need to get better at,” Patterson said. “This summer I will be training and working on getting even bigger. I have to go up to New Hampshire sometime in June before coming back home and going back up there on August 1.”
Patterson cites his improvement on the football field as a senior to the same thing he will be working on this offseason improved strength, as well as his hands.
“I was able to improve this year by really just getting bigger and working on catching the ball better,” he said. “I also worked on changing direction for making moves after catching the football.”
If he can do that, Patterson has big plans for himself at New Hampshire and possibly beyond.
“I want to play right away, get my name out there and let everyone know who I am,” he said. “I want to win a bowl game, have over 1,000 yards every year and make it to the NFL.”
“I am excited to get up there and work hard every single day to help us win.”
No matter what happens, Patterson is excited to join the Wildcats’ program, as he has really enjoyed his time up there already.
“New Hampshire is a really nice place to visit. You are an hour away from Boston and 30 minutes from the beach,” he said. “The coaches really made me feel at home when I went up there and the players really brought you in like one of their own.”
The feeling is mutual, as New Hampshire head coach Rick Santos spoke highly of Patterson on signing day.
“DaMontre has game-changing speed and is dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Santos said. “He has the ability to score from anywhere on the field and is dominant at wide receiver and in the return game. He will give our offense the ability to generate explosive plays and keep defenders on their heels. Our football family is truly grateful to add this playmaker to its team.”
Patterson was the No. 19 prospect in the state, according to 247sports.com. He had interest or offers from Michigan State, Colorado, Marshall and California.
The senior won state in track last spring as a junior, running 10.58 to bring home gold.
New Hampshire was 6-5 this year, but was 9-4 in 2022, losing to Holy Cross in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
