The Oklahoman's Super 30: Westmoore's Mykel Patterson-McDonald has loved football since birth
Larry McDonald just wanted to stop the crying.
The recent high school grad had just returned from the hospital in August 2005 with his newborn son, Mykel Patterson-McDonald, whose screams were ringing off the walls of the Norman apartment.
McDonald tried the usual parenting techniques. He patted his son on the back and rocked him side to side, but it wasn't a quick fix.
That's when McDonald found a faster solution. He put his son in front of the television, which had NFL Network on it. Immediately, the newborn's crying came to a halt.
"Any time I put him in front of football, he would stop crying," McDonald said. "He would just stop."
Patterson-McDonald’s interest in football has only grown since then.
Now a four-star safety at Westmoore High, Patterson-McDonald is ranked No. 5 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s best prospects in the 2024 class.
Patterson-McDonald will decide between OU, Houston, Missouri and UNLV on Monday at 5:30 p.m. But regardless of which program he commits to, Patterson-McDonald is just happy to be in the position he’s in.
More: The Oklahoman's Super 30: How Washington's Cooper Alexander blazing his own path
“The recruitment process has been amazing,” Patterson-McDonald said. “It has been a blessing. A lot more (offers) came than I was expecting. I worked for it, but I didn’t know it was going to come like this.”
Patterson-McDonald was just six years old when he told his father he wanted to play football.
That was music to the ears of McDonald, who walked on at OU in 2009 and even played semi-pro football.
“I wanted him to love the game before I really started pushing him,” McDonald said. “But he showed it so early, so we got to work immediately at age six.”
McDonald bought an agility ladder and a running parachute, just to name a few items.
The two trained every day, but it never overwhelmed Patterson-McDonald. He would often wake his father up on the weekend with his bag of equipment already packed.
“We were always working,” Patterson-McDonald said. “It was non-stop working, and it all paid off at the end of the day.”
It took time for Patterson-McDonald’s hard work to pay off.
After playing well as a sophomore at Westmoore, Patterson-McDonald broke out in his junior season. He racked up 108 tackles and three interceptions in 11 games.
More: A look at The Oklahoman's 2024 Super 30 high school football recruiting series
But by the end of 2022, Patterson-McDonald didn’t have any Division I offers to his name.
“I knew it would take a little bit longer because I understood the transfer portal and how it’s changing recruiting,” McDonald said. “I was keeping him calm like, ‘Be patient. It’ll come.’ We were both frustrated a little bit.”
It wasn’t until late January that Patterson-McDonald got his first Division I offer, and it was from none other than OU.
The lifelong Oklahoman grew up watching the Sooners. He was a fan of Dominique Franks, Ryan Broyles and countless others who once donned crimson and cream.
Patterson-McDonald was in his room when he received the offer from OU, but the first thing he did was find his father and give him a hug.
“He was so happy for me,” Patterson-McDonald said. “He’s been a major part of it. He has pushed me through it all. He has made me better. He has been my coach and my trainer. He’s a major part of it.”
Patterson-McDonald has received another nine Division I offers since then, including six from Power Five programs.
Patterson-McDonald has since narrowed that list down to four programs. And with his decision date looming, he’s focused on finding the right fit.
“I’m looking for relationships and what’s best for me,” Patterson-McDonald. “What’s going to get me set for life? What school is going to get me to where I want to go?”
Of course, Patterson-McDonald will still have to work hard at the college level in order to get where he wants to go.
But that won't be a problem for Patterson-McDonald, who has never shied away from the grind.
"There's always room for improvement," Patterson-McDonald said. "I'm never satisfied with what I do. There's always room for improvement in every part of the game."
More: The Oklahoman’s Super 30 high school football recruiting series for 2024 class
The Oklahoman's 2024 Super 30
Name: Mykel Patterson-McDonald
School: Westmoore
Super 30 ranking: No. 5
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 180 pounds
Position: Safety
Recruited by: Oklahoma, Houston, Missouri, UNLV, Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa State, Tulsa, Washington State, Alabama A&M
About the series
The Oklahoman’s Super 30 feature series will spotlight each high school football player on the Super 30 recruit rankings for the 2024 class. The series continued Friday with No. 5, Mykel Patterson-McDonald of Westmoore. See No. 4 on the list in Sunday’s edition of The Oklahoman. Here are the last five players we’ve featured:
No. 5: Mykel Patterson-McDonald, Westmoore
No. 6: DaMontre Patterson, WR/DB, Sulphur
No. 7: Cooper Alexander, TE, Washington
No. 8: Witt Edwards, WR/LB, Wagoner
No. 9: Andy Bass, QB, Heritage Hall
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: The Oklahoman's Super 30: Westmoore's Mykel Patterson-McDonald
