What does Hugh Freeze's departure mean for Shea Patterson?

OXFORD - As Hugh Freeze stood at the dais and fielded questions in the main room at SEC Media Days, he made no mistake about what steps his sophomore quarterback, Shea Patterson, had to take this season.

"It has to happen," Freeze said when asked about Patterson, a former five-star prospect, becoming the unquestioned face of Ole Miss' program. "And I think the great thing is his ceiling can be really high."

But after his resignation was announced Thursday night, Freeze won't be able to see that through. Sean, Shea's father, spoke with The Clarion-Ledger Friday morning and gave some insight on his son's mindset following the dramatic coaching change.

"Matt Luke was one of the first guys we got to know there," Sean said. "He's been part of the family since we've started. Shea went to Ole Miss ... and he's learned it is a business. And if you go somewhere, you better go somewhere you love the people, the teammates and the town because it is a business ... and you better love where you're at.

"It's his opportunity to lead. ... He's a competitor and it will probably drive him more to lead things. I think these things rock you for a little bit, but you've got a job to do."

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The head coach, Freeze, and offensive coordinator, Dan Werner, who recruited Shea are no longer at Ole Miss. Werner was fired by the university in December. Phil Longo was brought on to replace him.

The fact Shea is now the face of the program isn't a surprise to anyone. But these weren't the circumstances many envisioned it happening under.

The program self imposed a postseason ban for the 2017 season, which means Shea will have to wait until at least his junior year to play in a bowl game after the Rebels went 5-7 in 2016. And there's a possibility the NCAA could add another year to the ban.

Shea was asked if he's thought about transferring at SEC Media Days last week, but said: "Not at all. This type of stuff doesn't really faze me."

But things are different when a coaching change is made. But Sean said unless something crazy happens, Shea is committed to Ole Miss.

"As we see today, the sun comes up, fortunately. He just wakes up and it becomes more of a challenge," Sean said. "He loves Matt Luke, just like he loves coach Freeze. Matt is a guy that needs the help and it's going to be his first opportunity and Shea is going to be the guy that needs to help him.

"He still loves the university and he loves the fans. ... Unless there's some sort of mass exodus or some crazy thing, he's a Rebel. That's hopefully what his legacy is ... that he and his teammates helped keep things rolling when things were really tight."

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Sean said he's not surprised by anything, but doesn't know what to believe and what not to believe regarding Freeze's resignation.

He said Shea was very upset when he found out about that news.

"That's his coach. People don't understand the emotional attachment that you have to your coach," Sean said. "There's a relationship there and it runs very deep. Of course, he's very upset because he loves him and he still does."

Sean said he doesn't feel like he was misled by Freeze throughout Shea's recruiting process.

"They all came in together as teammates and it doesn't change a thing. When it's time for them to leave Oxford and hopefully, in Shea's case, it's the NFL or a job opportunity, by going through this stuff, there's going to be no question what type of leader he is.

"Because there hasn't been too many people singled out and put through this type of situation with this many expectations to try to keep things together. I think he's handled it way beyond his years. I think he's taken it upon himself, and his teammates have done that, to make sure Ole Miss football keeps going on."

Shea and his teammates open training camp on Aug. 2. 

ContactAntonio Morales at 601-961-7117 oramorales2@gannett.com. Follow him onTwitter.