the 6-foot-2, 173-pound battle said he has heard plenty from first-year tennessee coach jeremy pruitts staff over the past couple months, and hes eager to learn more about the vols during his overnight stay in knoxville. i just want to see what theyve got going on, battle said after participating in sundays nike elite 11 regional just outside charlotte, n.c.
i want to see how their players interact with the coaches and stuff, how the coaches bond with the players. I want to see how they play, see the atmosphere up there and get a good feel for it. clemson currently is at the top of his list, with n.c. State just behind the tigers. He said tennessee is the only school among his favorites that he hasnt visited. i havent been to tennessee yet, battle said, "so i dont know what they have.
coach hardesty, hes from my area, so hes big on me, for real, battle said. he said they really need some corners, and they think i can come in and make a change out of the gate. I can come in as a true freshman, maybe even earn a (starting) spot. niedermeyer, who followed pruitt from alabama to tennessee, also has been in contact with battle, and battle said hes a pretty cool guy. hes going to keep it real, battle said of niedermeyer. hes funny. Hes a real funny guy.
i know its a good opportunity, because they need corners, and im a good corner, said battle, who holds offers from more than 15 schools. i want to come in playing early. hes familiar with pruitts history as a national championship-winning defensive coordinator at alabama and florida state, along with his background as a secondary coach. He said he also has heard about pruitt being heavily involved with tennessees defensive backs on the practice field. i know coach pruitt coached a lot of good dbs, battle said. i know he left alabama, and he coaches the dbs for tennessee, too, so ill be working with him a lot if i go there.
battle, who attended clemsons spring game last weekend, said hes still at least a few months away from deciding on a college. im thinking about doing it either right before the season, during the season or on signing day, he said. "when i commit, im going to tell the coach and the staff that i committed, but i want to keep it quiet so everything dont blow up.