"I'm staying in contact with some of the other guys committed to Ole Miss,"
Batiste said. "We've started texting one another, bonding, you
know."
When did this get started?
"Around the start of my season Issac Gross facebooked me, and I guess that's how it all started. We just started talking a lot and then he introduced me
to I'tavius Mathers and we started talking. Temario Strong started texting me
and we started talking. I guess that's how it all started. Now we all talk all
of the time."
What all is discussed between the commits?
"We're just getting to know one another. We're all meeting up for the Alabama
game and are going to hang out in Oxford Saturday together. We've been talking
about Ole Miss and how our class can turn things around for the next four years.
We plan on getting a lot of victories and winning a championship together and
help get Ole Miss back on its feet. They already have a bunch of good young players.
They just need to get some experience and by the time we get there, they'll have
it. We should be rolling by next year."
What made Ole Miss so attractive in the first place?
"They stayed in contact with me every week, for one. They've always just
shown me a lot of love. I also saw they needed some help in the secondary, and
I have a chance at some early playing time. What better opportunity could I put
myself in?"
When was the last time the Lutcher, La., product spoke to the Ole Miss staff?
"We talked last week. (Ole Miss wide receivers) Coach (Gunter) Brewer calls me once a week, every week. He just
asked me how I felt about my commitment, and I told him I'm still strong about
it, and that was it. Of course he asked me about my game and how it went."
How is Batiste's season going?
"Great, man. We played Broadmoore for homecoming, and won 42-14. We're now
4-1. I'm having a good season so far. I have 46 tackles, two interceptions, one fumble
recovery, one sack, and seven batted down balls. I'm playing some free safety, so that
helps me see the field better."
Why the move to free safety from cornerback?
"I had to embrase the role because coach wanted to put me in a position where
I'm always around the all. They stopped throwing it to my side of the field so
he put me in the middle where I can always be around the ball. An offense can
keep it away from a cornerback if they want to but not the free safety."
Batiste has seen several improvements in his game.
"I know my technique is a lot better. I've polished up on it and now it's a lot easier and automatic for me. I got a lot stronger, too. My back peddle
speed is better. I do a lot of 10 and 20-yard burst runs and that helps me with
my transition coming out of my breaks. This offseason I'm going to work hard
on my lower-body strength and just my overall body strength. I'm about 178 right
now. I want to add about 10 more pounds before I get up to Ole Miss and be ready
to compete for Marcus Temple's spot."
Yancy Porter is the Mississippi Scout for Scout.com and he can be reached at
yporter@scout.com
