How about card trick I have done three using dice and card fabric then maching quilted
Retia

Does he like stars or something and what are his favorite color combinations. I think I would start there first.

LOL.....when you asked for a "man" pattern I had to look.....I thought maybe you were really making a "man" quilt LOL

The fact that he wants you to make him a quilt is so lovely! What about black and white, with a splash of red?

For my son in law I took all different shades of brown and then the backing was flannel so I didn't have to put batting in the middle. Second son received an Ohio State quilt which was done with the rag pattern the front was Red with the gray O and the back was gray with a Red O and he liked it. third son, I found some material with Eagles on it, and then the backing was patriotic. I just used the material with the backing as they were and then I FMQ around the Eagles I did every other one to make them stand out. fourth son is getting the Ohio State one he'll get his at Christmas I did't have time to do both Ohio State ones in time for their BD

I would think it would be more of a color thing and not fabric that's too girly.

The Gerda line is from Troy Corp., Riverwoods Collection. I 'googled' Gerda fabric and it came up. You can see all the fabrics in the line here. Not all fabrics are carried at Threads of Time, but a lot are there!

Rail fence in the darker shades would be manly.

I agree, Log Cabin.

jfifer, Any geometric design would be good for a man's quilt. A
quilting teacher told me that straight line quilting is meant for a man's quilt, as opposed to circles for a woman's quilt. Eiltcoq.