Tops on the Hit Parade

USC’s Orange Bowl game against Oklahoma marks the end of at least one era for the Trojans.

Senior nose tackle Mike Patterson will play his last college game for USC before heading to the NFL. Fiery defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, who recruited Patterson and molded him, sometimes mercilessly, into an All-American, is leaving immediately after the Jan. 4 bowl championship series title game to become head coach at Mississippi.

For Patterson and Orgeron, their impending departures make for a sentimental journey to Florida. “Coach O never let you get satisfied,” Patterson said. “That’s what I love about him.”

Orgeron, who nurtured eight All-Americans at Miami and three at USC, believes the 6-foot, 290-pound Patterson endured more than any player he has coached.

“Mike was probably the guy I was toughest on,” Orgeron said wistfully. “He knew there was work to be done and knew he wanted to be great. He was willing to take it as far as he could.”

Patterson, along with fellow senior All-American defensive lineman Shaun Cody, anchors a line that helped USC’s defense maintain its status as one of the nation’s best during its first perfect regular season since 1972. USC is second nationally in scoring defense and rushing defense.

Patterson has a team-best 16 tackles for losses, including six sacks. He also leads the team with four recovered fumbles.

“He’s dominating,” USC Coach Pete Carroll said last week. “He’s going to be a very notable guy in the draft.”

Carroll’s assessment of Patterson the first time he saw him play was vastly different.

Carroll was named coach at USC in December 2000 after Paul Hackett was fired. He retained Orgeron from Hackett’s staff and also made him recruiting coordinator.

With the high school football season already complete, Carroll glimpsed Patterson during a televised all-star game that featured top players from California and Florida. He was not impressed with the prep All-American from Los Alamitos High.

“He was about 320 pounds and he was gassed out in the first quarter, he could hardly chase the ball,” Carroll recalled. “I called up Ed during the game and said, ‘Who’s this guy you’re bringing me?’ Ed just said, ‘He’ll be all right.’ ”

Orgeron laughs when he recalls the conversation.

“I knew there was some hidden stuff under there,” Orgeron said.

Orgeron spoke from experience. He had coached Warren Sapp, Patterson’s idol, at Miami and thought Patterson would take advantage of similar leverage, hip flexibility and quickness.

Patterson chuckled at the memory of his first day of training camp under the loud, relentless and gravelly voiced Orgeron.

“The dude in recruiting was a whole lot different,” Patterson said. “I’m thinking, ‘Hey, that’s not the person I met.... What did I get myself into?’ ”

Patterson and Cody played as freshmen in 2001. Redshirt freshman Kenechi Udeze, an All-American in 2003, also was in the lineup.

Patterson, however, said he was “lost” and “turned around” for most of his first season. Others noticed.

“I was worried they were going to beat him down so far, we would never see him,” said Chris Carlisle, USC’s strength and conditioning coach.

But with Orgeron pushing him on the field and Carlisle and his staff showing him the way in the weight room, Patterson began emerging as a force the next spring.

He started every game in 2002 and registered 11 1/2 tackles for losses for the Trojans, who finished an 11-2 season with a victory over Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

“I felt like I knew the plays but I was still lacking experience,” Patterson said. “I thought, ‘Just go out there and get my job done, not necessarily make every play.’ ”

In 2003, playing on a line that included Cody and ends Udeze and Omar Nazel, Patterson finished with 13 1/2 tackles for losses. He returned a fumble 52 yards for a touchdown against UCLA, was selected All-Pacific 10 Conference and helped the Trojans defeat Michigan in the Rose Bowl for a share of the national title.

“I felt like I could trust the guys, they would let me know if something was wrong,” Patterson said. “I was just able to go out there and play.”

This season, Patterson and Cody have provided veteran leadership on and off the field. Patterson was selected to several All-American teams and was also chosen by Carlisle as the Trojans’ co-lifter of the year for the second year in a row.

“He’s come light years from where he started,” Carlisle said.

Said Cody, recalling Patterson’s first days in the program: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Patterson intends to help the Trojans write a glorious final chapter to their season against Oklahoma. The Sooners feature an offensive line that is regarded as perhaps the best in the nation, and freshman running back Adrian Peterson, who finished second to Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart in Heisman Trophy balloting.

“They look like they’re in control of the game every time,” Patterson said. “Everyone on the line is doing things right.

“I would compare them to Notre Dame, big guys that really get after you. Peterson is going to run hard and he’s not going to run away from you. He’s going to come after you.”

Orgeron said USC’s defensive line would be ready.

Patterson concurred, and acknowledged an extra incentive for performing well individually and collectively.

“Coach O did a great job with all of us,” Patterson said. “We all have a sense, in the back of our minds, ‘Hey, Coach O is leaving. Let’s do this right.’ ”