Arguably the biggest question following the shocking news that Hugh Freeze stepped down as head coach of the Ole Miss program was the status of Shea Patterson. The former five-star quarterback prospect was forced into action late last season and flashed enough promise to keep hope alive in Oxford heading into a season without the possibility of finishing in a bowl game.

With Freeze now out of a job and Ole Miss being run by career assistant Matt Luke, has anything changed with Patterson?

According to his father, Sean Patterson, the young signal caller is still looking forward to leading the Rebels entering the 2017 season — at least for now. Sean Patterson spoke with Antonio Morales of The Clarion-Ledger Friday following the surprising end of the Freeze era in Oxford Thursday evening.

“It’s (Shea’s) opportunity to lead. … He’s a competitor and it will probably drive him more to lead things. I think these things rock you for a little bit, but you’ve got a job to do.”

“As we see today, the sun comes up, fortunately. He just wakes up and it becomes more of a challenge. He loves Matt Luke, just like he loves coach Freeze. Matt is a guy that needs the help and it’s going to be his first opportunity and Shea is going to be the guy that needs to help him.

“He still loves the university and he loves the fans. … Unless there’s some sort of mass exodus or some crazy thing, he’s a Rebel. That’s hopefully what his legacy is … that he and his teammates helped keep things rolling when things were really tight.”

Patterson obviously has a tough decision on his hands. He could go the Jarrett Stidham/Blake Barnett route and transfer down to a junior college in order to make himself eligible to play for any Power 5 program in 2018, or he could go the Christian Hackenberg route and stay the course at his school during incredibly adverse times and leave the school as an icon.

While the drama surrounding Freeze is now a thing of the past in Oxford, the NCAA case still looms large over the program. With the school’s administration dismissing a coach for his personal conduct but sticking by him and his program’s record in regards to any severe NCAA violations, the possible twists and turns upcoming in the ongoing NCAA case should be fascinating. The revelations for Ole Miss likely aren’t over and how Patterson and his teammates react will be something to be on the lookout for in the future.