Javon Patterson ready to help "bridge the gap" between current and former Ole Miss student-athletes in new role

During his time in the NFL Javon Patterson would think about his post-career opportunities beyond football. Ole Miss has provided that opportunity.

The former Rebel offensive lineman accepted the position of Associate Director of Former Student-Athlete Relations. It is a job that Patterson could simply not refuse.

After realizing his days of playing football were done, Patterson spoke with Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter about finding his way back to the school to give back to a place that provided him so much.

“This opportunity kind of presented itself,” Patterson told The Ole Miss Spirit. “Keith came to me and explained it to me and it went from there. I told them that I was done with football and they were like, ‘We’ve kind of been waiting on a role like this come up and help us with this new (Champions. Now) program.”

Patterson’s role is to “bridge the gap,” as he put it, and keep an open relationship between the current and former Ole Miss student athletes.

Seeing former players back on the field and welcomed back by Ole Miss sparked something in Patterson.

He was back in Oxford last October during the LSU weekend for Eli Manning’s jersey number retirement.

“That had a lot to do with it and me and Keith had a lot of conversations,” Patterson said. “When I came back to the LSU game and we talked about how everybody was just talking about it. It was an awesome weekend. The events that went on that weekend, you saw the connectivity that everybody had and the joy that everybody had. Everybody was like, ‘Hey, maybe this is something that could go for a little bit more. People just wanted ideas about how to go about that.”

While Patterson is back at Ole Miss to help strengthen relationships with former players, he also wants to help prepare the current players for the future.

Patterson spent four seasons at Ole Miss, letter four times between 2015 and 2018. He was then drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately, his career would instantly hit a rough patch after tearing his ACL two months later in camp and ending his rooking season and tenure with the Colts. From there, Patterson spent time with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos from 2019 to 2021.

Patterson gained plenty of knowledge and experience during those years, as well as built relationships with other NFL players.

Now he wants to use that knowledge to help current Rebels prepare for what’s next for them after Ole Miss.

“That’s my passion. I want to help guys,” Patterson said. “I think most people, if they ask about me, ‘What was Javon like off the field? He was the person who wanted to help people.’ The NFL’s a great, great, great league and I had the best time and I wouldn’t take back any journey.

“The connections I made will take me further in life than I will ever know. But, I want to be that guy and kind of explain the process and explain how everything goes to get where they want to be to achieve those goals.”

Accepting the new position within the athletics department is something Patterson is not taking lightly.

He has ideas that he is already considering and when he starts next week after moving back to Oxford from Nashville, those ideas will begin getting put to work.

“I wanted to be back in athletics and this opportunity presented itself and it was an awesome feeling,” Patterson said. “For them to be able to trust me to be able to get that done and it’s a wonderful feeling.”