Mike Patterson ( American football ) Michael Antonio " Mike " Patterson ( born September 1 , 1983 ) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent . He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He played college football for the USC Trojans . Early years . Patterson is originally from Sacramento , California , but while visiting some family in Los Alamitos , California in between 8th and 9th grades , he decided to stay down there so that he could play football at Los Alamitos High School . He had decided this only after attending a summer football camp with his cousin Jorrel and enjoying the game very much . Patterson became a very good player even though he had never played at all prior to the summer camp . As a junior in high school , Patterson was named to the Long Beach Press - Telegram Dream Team second - team and All - Sunset League first - team honors . In his senior year , he earned Prep Star All - American , SuperPrep All - Far West , Prep Star All - Western Region , Long Beach Press - Telegram Best of the West second team , Los Angeles Times All - Orange County , Orange County Register All - Orange County first - team , Long Beach Press - Telegram Dream Team first - team and All - Sunset League honors . College career . USC defensive line coach Ed Orgeron recruited Patterson based on raw talent , and fought to sell the recruit on first - year head coach Pete Carroll , who eventually relented . For the USC Trojans , Patterson was a first team All - America n . Patterson played four years and helped win two National Championships with USC . He started for three years and played mainly as a nose tackle , but also a defensive tackle . During his senior year , Patterson was the subject of double coverage by many other teams . He was nicknamed " Baby Sapp " because of the similar playing style to that of former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp ; however , Patterson has since developed and is unique with his style of play now . Patterson was a sociology major at USC . Professional career . Philadelphia Eagles . Patterson was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 31st overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California . He started the 2005 season as second string , but started his first ever NFL game on September 25 , 2005 when starter Darwin Walker was injured . When Walker returned to the lineup four games later , Patterson went back to second string . On December 11 , 2005 , Patterson was moved permanently to the starting left defensive tackle position and remains there . In 2005 , Patterson was regarded as one of the best rookie defensive linemen in the NFL . He recorded the most tackles ( 38 ) in the season out of all the Eagles ' defensive line and he had more sacks ( 3 . 5 ) than any other Eagles ' defensive tackle or rookie defensive tackle in the NFL . Patterson will go down in Eagles lore for having the longest fumble recovery in team history . On the afternoon of September 24 , 2006 , Patterson picked up a fumble on the Eagles ' own 2 - yard line and ran 98 yards for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers . On November 2 , 2006 , Patterson signed a 7 - year contract extension through the 2016 season . During training camp before the 2011 season he collapsed and suffered a seizure . Patterson was diagnosed with cerebral arteriovenous malformation . He still started in the first 15 games of the season , missing the final game due to influenza . He underwent brain surgery on January 26 , 2012 , but he was not medically cleared to participate in training camp in 2012 . He was placed on the active / non - football illness list on July 22 , 2012 . Patterson was released on February 25 , 2013 . New York Giants . Patterson signed with the New York Giants on April 3 , 2013 . Personal . At USC , Patterson met his eventual fiancee , Bianca , who was a resident adviser for his student housing . One of his college roommates , Jonathan Abrams , is now a journalist for " The New York Times " .