LINK:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/30/sports/ncaafootball/30bulldog.html?&pagewanted=print
November 30, 2005
Smallish Defensive Back Is Bulldogs' Braveheart
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Ga., Nov. 29 (AP) - Tra Battle strolled into the room, looking as if he had gotten lost on his way to church.
In striking contrast to his Georgia teammates, Battle was decked out in a starched shirt and tie, impeccably pressed slacks and neatly shined shoes.
"I've been doing this all my life," Battle, who dresses up a couple of days a week, said recently. "My mom's a minister, so I've got plenty of suits. There was no half-stepping with her. If you have on a collared shirt, you'd better have a tie on with it."
Battle often does not fit in with the crowd.
While most of the Bulldogs had scholarships when they arrived on campus, Battle walked on. While many of his teammates ducked into majors like sports studies, Battle opted for chemistry. While nearly everyone around him looks like a football player, Battle seems more suited for a spot on the chess club.
At 5 feet 11 inches and a 167 pounds, he is not even as big as Georgia's kicker or punter.
"When he got here, he was a skinny kid who believed in himself, worked hard and wasn't intimidated by anything," Coach Mark Richt said. "Now, three years later, he's still a skinny kid. But he won't back down from anything."
Battle did not receive a scholarship offer - not even from the lower-division colleges that gave him a look - but he played in his very first game with the Bulldogs. Before his sophomore year, he was rewarded with a scholarship. A season later, he was a starter in the Georgia secondary.
Now a junior, Battle has defied everyone who said he was too small to play college football. He has two interceptions and ranks third on one of the nation's top teams with 63 tackles - many of them ferocious hits that seem out of character for someone who mentors children and hopes for a future career in medicine.
"I have to attribute that to my mother," Battle said. "My mom is more competitive than me. She never let me quit anything. She always made me do my best in everything I do."
When Battle arrived at Georgia, he quickly drew the attention of teammates like defensive tackle Kedric Golston.
"He was always watching film," Golston said. "You could just tell that he was in a different gear than everybody else. If you gave 100 percent, he gave 125 percent. He just forced himself onto the field. I guess you can't measure the size of someone's heart."
Battle played in 35 consecutive games until a concussion kept him out of Georgia's victory over Kentucky, which gave the No. 13 Bulldogs (9-2) a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game against third-ranked Louisiana State (10-1) on Saturday.
For someone who throws around his body with such abandon, Battle held up amazingly well until he was inadvertently struck in the head by a fellow Georgia player, the 330-pound defensive lineman Darrius Swain, in a game against Auburn.
Battle managed to convince the trainers he could continue, even though he now admits that he does not remember much about the game. At Mary Persons High School, Battle was a four-year starter at quarterback and safety who led his team to the playoffs each season. Several colleges, including Georgia and Auburn, seemed interested. He also had discussions with three Division I-AA teams as well as Division II powerhouse Valdosta State.
Then, as signing day approached, the phone stopped ringing, the letters stopped arriving. When it came time to pick a college, Battle was on his own.
"I had no offers," he remembered. "Nothing."
His older sister attended Auburn, so Battle considered walking on there. But he could qualify for a state-sponsored scholarship if he went to school in Georgia, which persuaded him to try out with the Bulldogs.
"I wanted to help my mom," Battle said. "I noticed she had gotten a little grayer paying my sister's way through college."
****************
Link:
http://www.oxfordpress.com/sports/c...stories/2007/04/FBC_DRAFT_OOOPS_0425_COX.html
No party for safety Battle
By
CARTER STRICKLAND
Cox News Service
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
ATLANTA — Tra Battle, maybe despite his better instincts, is going to watch the NFL draft this weekend.
"You never know," the former Georgia safety said. "I'm sure [former Georgia safety] Tim Jennings wasn't sitting there thinking he was going to be taken in the second round, but he was."
Sure, you never know. There is always a chance. But even Battle knows his best chance to get selected will come Sunday, the second day of the draft. Which is why, when he settles in for the hours of picks and analysis Saturday, he will do so alone or with a couple of family members.
"It's kind of hard to hold a two-day party," he said. "I don't know if people would want to stick around for that long."
But Battle most likely will stick on the board that long. The undersized safety is a long shot because of his size (5-11, 175). A team might take a fifth-, sixth- or seventh-round gamble because Battle is an intelligent player and, as his agent Kevin Connor said, "has proven that he can consistently make plays at the highest level in college football."
That might not be enough. The NFL is about size, speed and potential. Certain players fit the mold. Battle is not one of them.
This was a player who did not get a scholarship out of Mary Persons High.
"I was talking to my mom and she said, 'You have never been given anything. What makes you think they are going to give you something now? You have got to go work for it.' "
This advice from a woman, Tonya Battle, who had fallen from the top of a sawmill two decades ago, shattered her legs and was told she would never walk again. She never listened, never gave up.
Her son walked on at Georgia and rarely walked off the field.
Even as a true freshman, Battle played. As a junior and senior, he started every game, had 124 tackles and intercepted eight passes. Three came on the road at Auburn in 2006.
"I think [the NFL scouts] will see the amount of plays I made," Battle said. "You may look at someone and he may be the best athlete out there, but can he make plays? I think I have proven that I can make plays."
In that vein, he is not unlike former teammates Tony Taylor and Jarvis Jackson. That pair finds themselves in the same predicament. They are second-day guys who face the possibility of having to go the free-agent route.
"For one reason or another, there are guys that do slip through and are taken as free agents," said Connor, who is also Jackson's agent. "What we do is try to prepare our clients. We don't want to give them false hope because if you do that, if you tell someone he is going to be drafted high and then he isn't, it can crush their spirit.
"This week, I will bring Tra and Jarvis in and we will talk about the scenario and what we are hearing and where we think their best chances are."
Battle just wants a chance.
"I talked to DeMario [Minter] and [Greg] Blue and they said don't worry about where you get drafted or any of that," Battle said of his former teammates. "It doesn't matter. All you have to do is get here and work. They said there are all kinds of guys that don't work up there [in the NFL], and if you get there and work you can make it."
Battle will try to make it on special teams. Former Bulldogs star Hines Ward told him that's his best shot to stick with a team and make a paycheck.
The minimum salary for rookies is $225,000. That number, along with wondering what round he will be selected in, if at all, is what keeps Battle up at night.
"This is the most agonizing waiting game I have ever been through," he said.
Carter Strickland writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 
