« Football 2020-21

Riley Patterson

School
University of Memphis
Position
K
Major
Supply Chain Management

Classroom

Patterson is on track to graduate in Spring 2020 with his bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, and he currently boasts a 3.57 GPA.

He has been named to the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team in each of his first three seasons at Memphis. Patterson is also a four-time selection to the UofM Dean’s List (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020) and a five-time honoree in the Tiger 3.0 Club (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020).

Character

Patterson is grounded in his faith and has incredible attention to detail that has allowed him to become a key component in the Tigers’ team chemistry. He relates to each of his teammates from all walks of life, because he genuinely cares about all individuals in his orbit. Even though he is a specialist, he makes it a point to get involved with every positional group and have an open dialogue with all of his teammates and coaches. He has a passion for getting to know his teammates inside and outside of football.

Community

Patterson is a dedicated volunteer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He spent the summer of 2019 as an intern in the hospital’s sports marketing department. Due to his success as an intern, he stayed in the role throughout the entire summer and into the fall semester, continuing to work at home remotely during the global pandemic.

Patterson has displayed a passion for working with sick children and has spent roughly 90 percent of his volunteering hours at either St. Jude or Le Boneheur Children’s Hospital, both in Memphis.

His involvement with St. Jude’s bingo night has evolved to the point that he now spearheads all administrative duties (including scheduling teammates to participate) related to the relationship between St. Jude and Memphis football. Riley has developed a strong connection with St. Jude and hopes to continue his involvement in the long term.

Competition

Patterson is the latest placekicker to thrive at what is commonly referred to as “Kicker U” at the University of Memphis, following in the footsteps of former Tigers and Super Bowl Champion kickers Stephen Gostkowski and Jake Elliott.

Patterson was an All-American Athletic Conference first-team selection following a standout junior season that ended with him scoring a career-high 21 points and setting an NCAA bowl game and program record with six field goals against Penn State in the 2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl. 

Prior to the 2020 season, he was named an Athlon Sports Preseason All-America third-team selection and placed on the Lou Graza Award Watch List, an honor he also earned during his 2019 campaign. He made 23 field goals in 2019, tying the single-season program record.

Patterson has played in 45 career games (as of Oct. 30). With his 382 total points, he is second all-time in program history (as of Oct. 30). Memphis great and Super Bowl LII champion Jake Elliott holds the record with 445 total points.

Patterson is the third player in Memphis history to eclipse 300 career points kicking and currently ranks fourth on the school’s all-time list in highest PAT percentage at 97.3 percent (220-for-226 as of Oct. 30).