2019 St. Thomas 4-star DB Jordan Battle was one of the standouts in a loaded field of participants at the Under Armour All-America Miami camp yesterday, gliding through the air effortlessly on his many pass break-ups. His performance got him recognized by the Under Armour brass and Battle was honored after the camp as one of four new invitees to the UA All-America Game in January 2019.
“It feels good,” Battle said. “I performed very well. I had one pass caught on me, it was a slant. So, I’m just gonna recover from that and get better.”
Battle is looked to as a senior leader at St. Thomas now after a huge junior year on the field. The Raiders suffered a tough loss in last year’s state semifinals matchup against eventual champ Venice HS, and it’s the pain of that loss that fuels Battle and his teammates during the off-season.
“I played great,” Battle said. “I had 56 tackles and 5 interceptions, plus 2 returns (for touchdowns). I have the feeling we have to step up for next year, so the same thing doesn’t happen again. We need more leadership, the leaders have to give more than the leaders last year. I’m most excited about our defense next year of course, we’re loaded. We got a bunch of DB’s, linebackers too, (Anthony) Solomon and Jahmar (Brown), (Derek) Wingo too… Braylen (Ingraham) on the D-Line.”
If Sunday’s camp is any indication, Battle and the Raiders will be just fine for his senior season. Battle’s teammates at STA on the offensive side of the ball had a day as well at the UA All-America Miami camp, with 2020 receivers Xavier Restrepo and Marcus Rosemy looking like dangerous weapons.
“I liked their competitiveness for sure,” Battle said of Restrepo and Rosemy. “We do the same thing every day in practice.”
After dominating on the field as a junior and turning in some impressive camp performances, Battle finally landed an offer from his hometown Miami Hurricanes back on February 16th.
“It was great, you know, and I liked the fans showing love after I posted about the offer too,” said Battle.
S coach Ephraim Banda and CB coach Mike Rumph have made Battle’s recruitment a tag-team effort, and the gridiron star has formed a close connection with the two Canes coaches. It’s those relationships that have UM under heavy consideration in Battle’s mind.
“I like them because of coach Rumph, he’s one of my favorite coaches,” said Battle. “Also, coach Banda contacts me almost every day. He’s a family man, just had a baby too.”
After receiving his offer, Battle took a Miami visit the next day with some of his talented defensive teammates at STA and all are plenty interested in what the Canes have to offer. They were: Anthony Solomon, Jaden Davis, Avery Huff, Jahmar Brown, and Derek Wingo. Battle also visited the month before in January for the Duke basketball game.
“I went to both the Duke and Syracuse basketball games,” Battle said. “I liked it, watching the games, talking to the coaches.”
The Canes actually received a commitment on Battle’s February visit, from none other than 4-star WR Jeremiah Payton.
“I heard about the actual commitment after the fact, but we got the idea he was gonna do it on the visit, he was talking about it.”
When asked about any top groups or leaders, Battle gave me his current top 5, which included the Canes.
“Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, and Georgia lead right now,” said Battle before adding: “and Florida too.”
Battle is enjoying the recruiting process, but has a plan on how he will wrap things up. His school of choice will be able to offer great DB coaching, as well as a top notch business school education.
“I’m gonna drop my list by the end of spring, and probably decide by the middle of the season in fall,” Battle said. “I’m looking for good coaching at my position and my major too, business.”
“It feels good,” Battle said. “I performed very well. I had one pass caught on me, it was a slant. So, I’m just gonna recover from that and get better.”
Battle is looked to as a senior leader at St. Thomas now after a huge junior year on the field. The Raiders suffered a tough loss in last year’s state semifinals matchup against eventual champ Venice HS, and it’s the pain of that loss that fuels Battle and his teammates during the off-season.
“I played great,” Battle said. “I had 56 tackles and 5 interceptions, plus 2 returns (for touchdowns). I have the feeling we have to step up for next year, so the same thing doesn’t happen again. We need more leadership, the leaders have to give more than the leaders last year. I’m most excited about our defense next year of course, we’re loaded. We got a bunch of DB’s, linebackers too, (Anthony) Solomon and Jahmar (Brown), (Derek) Wingo too… Braylen (Ingraham) on the D-Line.”
If Sunday’s camp is any indication, Battle and the Raiders will be just fine for his senior season. Battle’s teammates at STA on the offensive side of the ball had a day as well at the UA All-America Miami camp, with 2020 receivers Xavier Restrepo and Marcus Rosemy looking like dangerous weapons.
“I liked their competitiveness for sure,” Battle said of Restrepo and Rosemy. “We do the same thing every day in practice.”
After dominating on the field as a junior and turning in some impressive camp performances, Battle finally landed an offer from his hometown Miami Hurricanes back on February 16th.
“It was great, you know, and I liked the fans showing love after I posted about the offer too,” said Battle.
S coach Ephraim Banda and CB coach Mike Rumph have made Battle’s recruitment a tag-team effort, and the gridiron star has formed a close connection with the two Canes coaches. It’s those relationships that have UM under heavy consideration in Battle’s mind.
“I like them because of coach Rumph, he’s one of my favorite coaches,” said Battle. “Also, coach Banda contacts me almost every day. He’s a family man, just had a baby too.”
After receiving his offer, Battle took a Miami visit the next day with some of his talented defensive teammates at STA and all are plenty interested in what the Canes have to offer. They were: Anthony Solomon, Jaden Davis, Avery Huff, Jahmar Brown, and Derek Wingo. Battle also visited the month before in January for the Duke basketball game.
“I went to both the Duke and Syracuse basketball games,” Battle said. “I liked it, watching the games, talking to the coaches.”
The Canes actually received a commitment on Battle’s February visit, from none other than 4-star WR Jeremiah Payton.
“I heard about the actual commitment after the fact, but we got the idea he was gonna do it on the visit, he was talking about it.”
When asked about any top groups or leaders, Battle gave me his current top 5, which included the Canes.
“Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, and Georgia lead right now,” said Battle before adding: “and Florida too.”
Battle is enjoying the recruiting process, but has a plan on how he will wrap things up. His school of choice will be able to offer great DB coaching, as well as a top notch business school education.
“I’m gonna drop my list by the end of spring, and probably decide by the middle of the season in fall,” Battle said. “I’m looking for good coaching at my position and my major too, business.”
