Ole Miss transfer Miles Battle leaving his mark on Utes cornerback room

SALT LAKE CITY — Ole Miss transfer Miles Battle isn't Clark Phillips III.

The two may share a common position, but Battle came to Utah to blaze his own trails in a defensive system that could potentially help him follow in Phillips' footsteps and hear his name called next spring as part of the NFL draft. That day could come, but first, the 2023 season awaits.

Though Battle isn't looking to be Phillips' exact replacement, the former Utah cornerback had an influence on the Houston, Texas, native before he even committed to Utah on Dec. 30, 2022.

During an official visit to Utah after Battle put his name in the transfer portal, the coaching staff showed him a play where Phillips stripped the ball from an Ohio State player in the Rose Bowl on the goal line to save a touchdown opportunity. The play "just stuck in my head," Battle later said.

It was the type of play that exemplified the Utah defensive style and was a major selling point in attracting Battle to the university, he said. Enough so that days later when Battle found himself in a similar situation in a bowl game against Texas Tech in his final game for the Rebels, Phillips' play replayed in his head in real time as running back Cam'Ron Valdez escaped for what looked like an easy touchdown.

At the 1-yard line, though, Battle punched the ball out of Valdez's hands, and it went into the back of the end zone for a much-needed stop for Ole Miss.

"It just clicked and I was like, I got the same opportunity, same play and went and made the play," Battle said. "And I was like, Hey! I was actually pretty much sold on coming to Utah before that game, and then after that game, it just made that much better."

It felt like a good omen for Battle to commit to Utah ... even if he was already wearing Utah bracelets on his wrists during the game.

Now, just over two weeks before Utah's season opener against Florida, Battle has no regrets about making the trek to Utah, where he's looking forward to a consistent coaching staff and scheme that will help him improve upon his game. And while the results remain to be seen, he feels as though it's been a major success so far.

It's a place where he's had to learn to run more being in a man coverage system as opposed to Ole Miss' primarily zone coverage defense. It's partially what attracted him to Utah because it's a system that gets him closer to what NFL teams run.

Even if that means cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah yells at him a lot to run more.

"I'm yelling constantly at Miles ... and I won't shut up, and I won't stop," Shah said. "But I think it's that level of consistency for me that allowed him to take a huge and substantial step forward in becoming a much better player for us in the spring. I mean, I think you saw a little glimpse of who Miles can be. He's really an awesome kid."

Outside of leaning a new defensive scheme, Shah said "everything else is really very easy for Miles."

"He has a very high aptitude," Shah said. "His physical skill set allows him to do things nobody else in the room can. And so getting him to be a better tackler, to get off blocks and use his length to his advantage, as well as believe that effort will win games if your effort is always at the maximum, I think we're allowing him to be the player he wants to be."

Battle enrolled in school in January to participate in spring ball and to get a jump on the defensive schemes that would take a while to acclimate to after having that zone defense background. He quickly acclimated to the program and has quickly stepped into a leadership role in a cornerback room that features players with years of experience.

His leadership has been a valuable resource to the other members of the room — even to Shah.

"He's the kind of person that sits in the room and says, 'You know, coach, if we thought about it like this' — and he drops a little nugget on you," Shah said. "I'm like, all right, Miles, OK. He's like, 'You can do what you want, you're the coach, but I would think that this might work.' And you like that. Again, he, himself, has ingratiated his kind heart into the room, so you see that torch of leadership just being — it's being passed."

For Battle, it's just about having an open dialogue with his teammates and coaches to ensure that everyone in the room improves. Though he has the least amount of experience in Utah's defensive scheme, his perspective has given Utah added depth to its game.

"I've come from a couple different defensive schemes, so just being able to see how other people run things and then just asking those questions that I've got a different point of view, because I've played at another place and with different coordinators, so it's just being able to have those open conversations with coach," Battle said. "Certain ways might be better than he'd never thought of and I've never thought of, so it's just being able to talk with each other and have open dialogue."

Much like Phillips was a leader of the cornerback room in his three seasons at Utah, Battle has inserted himself into a leadership role among a veteran unit. He came to Utah to improve his game, but he's also helping Utah in its attempt to reach its lofty goal. It's now just a question of whether Battle, and the cornerback room, can back it up on the field.

Following Phillips at Utah or to the NFL will take effort, but Battle said he's up for the challenge.

"I want to be known as long, rangy, lockdown corner; be able to play inside and out, and I feel like I could do that here with the defense that we play," Battle said. "I could lock down inside, lock down outside, no matter where I am on the field. Just do my job and lock down that receiver."

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