Patrick was an All-State football player under Coach Joel Hicks at Big Creek High School. He was a basketball honorable mention All-American and also lettered in track. Coming out of high school, he was considered to have the pass-catching instincts to make him a top prospect.

Patrick was considered a "made-to-order" receiver, along with everything else, and was considered almost impossible to bring down. He led the WVU freshman receivers until a leg injury sidelined him. With his right leg injured, he used his left on the conversion which beat Penn State 7-6 and he got a pat on the back from Sports Illustrated.

As a sophomore, he was the top receiver. He caught 19 passes for 326 yards and had two touchdowns. That year, he became more aggressive and showed the ability the coaching staff felt he had all along. His speed (4.7 40-yard dash) complemented his pass-catching ability. As a junior, he hauled in 50 receptions for 770 yards and five TDs to finish 18th in the nation and set a WVU school record. He also snared 10 catches for 190 yards against Penn State, two Mountaineer records. His five touchdowns made him the third-leading Mountaineer scorer in 1968.

His senior year, "Big O," as he was called, had nine receptions for 97 yards. He is tied for tenth on the WVU all-time season receptions list with 50 receptions in a season during his junior year. At the time, he was the 18th-best wide receiver in the nation statistically. Over his career, he amassed 78 receptions, tied for 21st at WVU for career receptions. After his senior year, he was signed as a free agent by the Washington Redskins.