This past spring, Stanford football added a talented defensive lineman from the transfer portal in Yale senior Clay Patterson. Patterson had previously committed to Illinois after hitting the transfer portal in December before then backing out of his pledge to Illinois and re-opening his recruitment. After re-opening his recruitment, he then committed to UNLV before later deciding to change course once more, leading him to finally find a home at Stanford. It’s been quite the nationwide tour for him.
During his four years at Yale, Patterson played in 32 games, totaling 111 tackles (60 solo), 30.5 tackles for loss, 22.5 sacks, and one interception. As a senior in 2023, he played in 10 games, totaling 40 tackles (21 solo), 10 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.
Rivals has Patterson rated as a 3-star transfer with a 5.5 Rivals rating, which isn’t that high of a rating. However, his production at Yale was quite good as his 22.5 sacks ranks second on Yale’s all-time list. He’s shown he can bring guys down and play with physicality up front, which is something Stanford could use more of on defense. He’s also got a solid body frame at 6’3”, 290 pounds and has played in a lot of games.
Overall, Clay Patterson seems to be a nice addition for Stanford out of the transfer portal. He brings veteran experience, physicality up front, and an ability to make plays in the backfield. It will be interesting to see what he brings to the Cardinal defensive line room come this fall.
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