Khiry Battle talks about Ole Miss visit

Khiry Battle (S/RB, Decalu, GA) -One of the more physical safeties throughout the land had a chance to visit with the coaching staff that he committed to while they were at Arkansas.

"My mother and my little sister came with me," added Khiry Battle. "They came with me to Ole Miss' football camp last summer so they were already pretty familiar with the campus and everything. My sister had all she could eat. I think she ate more chocolate than she should have (laugh). She is only 4 years old and she was running around the hotel hall like her head was cut off (laugh). My mom was already really impressed with Ole Miss' academic support staff when she visited last summer. We went to camps at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Texas Tech, and a few more places, and she thought Ole Miss had the best academic support staff out of all of them. This trip for her was all about how the coaches communicate with the players, and will it be a full circle of communication where everyone has one goal in mind and that is to get me a degree. She was very happy with that aspect. We spoke to a law professor, meet with an academic advisor, and even spoke to the head of the law school. She was very impressed with all of them. There is no question that Ole Miss' main goal is to help you get your degree."

There was also another academic issue at Ole Miss that Battle was not aware of.

"I learned that most of their team graduates in 3 1/2 years now. Their new academic advisor is setting all of the new players up on a schedule where you can graduate in three and half years. That is pretty impressive."

Did the overall visit meet Khiry's expectations?

"It was about what I was expecting it to be because I had really high expectations going into the trip because this was the staff I committed to, and we already felt like they had the best academic support staff."

What did Battle enjoy the most during his trip?

"The food (laugh). We definitely ate every 5 minutes. I put on a few pounds. I weighed in at 202. I lost around 10 pounds since football was out, so it was good to put some back on. But it was just good to see the coaches that I committed to again. It was kind of weird seeing them at Ole Miss with all of their Rebel gear on. It was pleasant."

Battle was hosted with another Georgia product.

"Fon Ingram was my player host. I liked him a lot. He is around this area too, so we had a lot in common. I met some other recruits from Georgia too. Justin Smith, Brandon Sanders, and Melvin Harris were also there. We pretty much went everywhere together. Brandon had already committed to Ole Miss, and Justin committed to Ole Miss on Saturday. They were recruiting me harder than the coaches (laugh). They kept on talking about how important it was for us to all stay together. It was nice to know they will be there."

The atmosphere around Ole Miss' campus and the City of Oxford also caught Battle by surprise.

"For a program that did not win many games the last few years, it was a spirited atmosphere, real exciting. The students, players, and community are so into Ole Miss football over there. And everyone is crazy about Coach Nutt. He is about to really turn that program around. The players were like you can just go in his office, lay on his couch, and spill your guts out. They said it was just the opposite before. They are really happy that Coach Nutt is there now, and that says a lot to me because sometimes you know how people are loyal to their old coach. You can tell they are crazy about Coach Nutt. The players are all so close. You can tell how close they are off of the field. They go everywhere together. It is not a bunch of clicks. That is definitely a plus. The community, man, that really surprised me. Everyone knows who even the recruits are. I was in my hotel when we checked in, and came out to get a coke. Somebody out of the blue asked me if I were Khiry Battle. I said yes. I didn't now what to think. He got all excited and ran into his room and told that person that I was outside. He ran out in the hall and started talking about how he watched my film on the internet and how good I was. It kind of took me by surprise. I was not expecting that. I was impressed. My point of view is that I am just an average guy who likes to hit people a lot. But everywhere I went, everyone knew who I was. It was kind of crazy."

Khiry had a one on one meeting with Coach Nutt right before he left back home.

"Surprisingly, he told me it was no big rush for me to say I was coming or not. He told me to go home, pray about it, and take my visit to Arkansas this weekend. Then when I get back home, compare the people at the two schools and make the best decision for me, not nayone else. That really impressed me a lot, and I appreciated him not putting any pressure on me and letting me go check out Arkansas."

Battle had mentioned before that he was concerned that Ole Miss was recruiting him as a safety, while Arkansas was recruiting him at running back, his preferred position. Was that issue discussed?

"Yes, they told me that during two a days, they would put me at running back one practice, and then switch me to safety for the next. And where ever I could get on the field the quickest, that is where I would play. I thought that was very fair."

What will Battle focus on while he is at Arkansas this weekend?

"Only one thing, the coaching staff. I have already been up there before, so I know pretty much everything there is to know about Arkansas. I have never met their whole staff face to face, and this is going to give me the opportunity."

This past season, Khiry focused his attention at safety and totaled 86 tackles, 1 interception, 5 pass breakups, and caused 3 fumbles.

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