Football
- Title:
- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
- Email:
- football@kent.edu
Updated June 2026
Clay Patterson joined Kent State in January 2024 as the Flashes’ new co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach and was elevated to the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in April 2025.
In his second season with the Golden Flashes, the Flashes finished with a 5-7 record and a five-game improvement, the second-largest turnaround in program history and the fourth-largest in the nation. In conference play, the Flashes went 4-4 for the first time since 2022. Patterson also saw wide receiver Cade Wolford named to the All-MAC Third Team, finishing the season with 19 receptions for 509 yards and seven touchdowns. Patterson also developed Dru DeShields into one of the top quarterbacks in the MAC, ranking in the top five in: passing efficiency, passing touchdowns, passing yards per game, passing yards per completion, points responsible for per game, and yards per pass attempt.
In his first season with the Golden Flashes, they were one of the top big-play teams in the passing game, as they ranked 21st in the nation in passing yards per completion at 13.5 yards per completion. Quarterback Tommy Ulatowski ranked second in the nation, averaging 16.7 yards per completion. The Flashes also had one of the best receivers in the nation, Chrishon McCray, who ranked 20th in the nation with nine touchdowns and 30th in the nation with an average of 17.63 yards per reception. The Golden Flashes saw two receivers named to the All-MAC Team this season: Chrishon McCray (2nd Team) and Luke Floriea (3rd Team).
Patterson joined the Golden Flashes from South Florida, where he coached tight ends last season. He helped the Bulls finish 7-6, capped by a victory over Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl. Tight end Weston Wolff averaged nearly 10 yards per catch under his leadership and helped pave the way for a running attack that averaged over 180 yards per game in 2023.
Before his season in Tampa, Patterson was the tight ends coach at Colorado in 2022 and was later promoted to interim offensive and passing game coordinator for the second half of the season. He got his first FBS gig at Minnesota, coaching tight ends from 2018-21. The Gophers enjoyed great success during his tenure in Minneapolis, going 30-16 in his four seasons, including three bowl wins. Patterson coached Ko Kieft, now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to high marks from Pro Football Focus for both pass-catching and blocking.
Before joining the Golden Gophers, Patterson coached prolific offenses on the junior college level. He spent three seasons leading the offense at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. In 2015, he broke the all-time yards per game record at any level of football as the Cardinals averaged a remarkable 656 yards per game. A year earlier, the Cardinals set two other Junior College records for most plays (938) and total yards (7,778). In his 35 games in Athens, the Cardinals topped 50 points 23 times and averaged 54 points per game.
His work with the Cardinals led to a head coaching gig at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, his last stop before Minnesota. He went 14-8 in two seasons, including the first conference title for the Norsemen in 2003. He was named conference coach of the year for his efforts, and his offense averaged 525 yards and 36 points per game.
Patterson also has coaching stops at Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and Southeastern Oklahoma State, where he was a wide receiver for two seasons after he graduated from Northeast Oklahoma A&M. A native of Morris, Oklahoma, he is married to the former Ashley Holt.
