IU had just given up a 13-play, 75-yard Michigan State scoring drive to tie the game with mere seconds remaining. The game went to overtime. The Hoosiers’ momentum had been lost.
But on a 2nd-and-8 play, redshirt junior defensive lineman Pat Dougherty bypassed the Spartan offensive line, met Michigan State quarterback Tyler O’Connor in the backfield and brought him down for a loss of three yards.
Dougherty made his way back to the line after his first career sack without celebration.
There wasn’t enough time to release the coiled spring that was wound up from nagging injuries and three years of limited play after nine years of ball in grade school. IU went on to win the game, 24-21, but there still wasn’t much talk about Dougherty.
“He’s not a guy that wants to talk, he’s just a guy that backs up his play with how he plays,” IU defensive line coach Mark Hagen said. “He lets that do the speaking for him. He’s a leader by example and all our guys respect him.”
But who is Pat Dougherty?
That’s been the question on the minds of IU fans as the lineman out of Aurora, Ohio, has started to make his mark on the 2016 season.
On paper, he’s not the most impressive player on the IU defense. To date, he has nine tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup.
It’s the pivotal plays that he does make that get his coaches calling for No. 58 more and more.
He blocked a field goal in the first quarter against Michigan State, recovered a fumble and batted down a pass against Ohio State and broke through the line to force a safety against Nebraska.
But this is his fourth year in the program. How has he not seen the field more often?
Dougherty was a two-star recruit coming out of Division II power Aurora High School in 2013, where he played both offensive and defensive line. He chose IU, the only Big Ten school to offer him, over Cincinnati, Boston College and several Mid-American Conference schools
Other members of that IU recruiting class include Marcus Oliver, Rashard Fant, TJ Simmons, Darius Latham and Antonio Allen. That doesn’t even include players already on the roster, like now-senior defensive tackle Ralph Green and former Hoosier defensive linemen Nick Mangieri and Zach Shaw, who all started ahead of Dougherty through his first three years.
All of those Hoosiers have either left the program or are at least two years deep into a starting role on the team.
Dougherty’s path to the field was different though.
He separated his shoulder in the first game of his senior year of high school. Dougherty played through it for a few weeks, but after suffering a setback mid-season, he and his coach Bob Mihalik decided to shut him down.
“It was tough because we made it to the Final Four that season,” Mihalik said. “But, the trainers had to keep popping his shoulder back in place during games, and we knew he had a real chance to contribute at the next level.”
The star basketball player turned football player had led his team to the Final Four of the Ohio State Championship in his junior year too. But, his senior year would consist of shoulder surgery, rehab and regaining upper body strength most recruits in the class didn’t need to regain.
But working hard has never been an issue for the junior, Mihalik said.
“If I had to say one thing about Pat as a person, it would just be his incredible work ethic,” Mihalik said. “He’s worked hard for the game of football, and his ability to respond to adversity is the reason why he won’t just succeed at football, but will succeed at life.”
Hagen called Dougherty a “lunch pail, journeyman” type of guy, in the way he comes to practice to improve and doesn’t bat an eye when he is asked to do something for the team.
Most recently, Dougherty was asked to switch from defensive tackle, where he practiced all camp, to defensive end after sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Robinson suffered a concussion. Dougherty has switched between inside and outside all season, and his sack against Michigan State came from the defensive end position.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson commented on Dougherty’s work ethic after the Michigan State upset, emphasizing that the junior never “blended in” to the program, where most players in his shoes would have.
Dougherty kept working to find a significant role on the team, Wilson said.
“He’s not the biggest,” Hagen said. “He’s not the strongest. He’s not the fastest guy, but he’s very, very smart. He understands the game. He’s a guy that uses both his ability and his brain.”
That intellect is a significant reason why he has worked his way into more and more snaps each week on the line of a defense that’s made the third-largest improvement in the country.
But that’s just who Pat Dougherty is.
“Every game I continue to gain more and more confidence about it and just keep playing hard, take coaching the best I can and practice good fundamentals,” Dougherty said about his role in the defense. “No days off during practice.”
