‘A consummate student’: A look at former Utah cornerback Miles Battle ahead of the NFL draft
Nine former Utes declared for the NFL draft this offseason with hopes of continuing their football careers and playing professionally.
Here’s a look at cornerback Miles Battle.
Miles Battle, cornerback
Height: 6-foot-3.
Weight: 196 pounds.
Age: 24.
What did he do at Utah?
Battle arrived at Utah after five years at Ole Miss, starting out as a receiver before transitioning to cornerback in 2020, and in 2021 and 2022, he grew at the position, appearing in all 13 games both years with a combined four starts. Battle transferred to Salt Lake City in part because of Utah’s reputation of developing defensive players for the NFL, and after a great pro day showing, he’s hoping a team takes a chance on him.
Battle may have been the Ute that helped himself the most at the school’s annual pro day. His performance there — including running a 4.37-second 40-yard-dash, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic — earned him a 9.5 out of 10 on Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score, which was designed to compare athletes’ performance on pro day and combine drills. That ranks 125 out of 2,473 cornerbacks from 1987 to 2024.
“I’m starting to get a lot more traction, talking to more scouts, setting up meetings and stuff, so it’s going to be a great opportunity for me,” Battle said.
Battle didn’t earn the starting cornerback job — that went to JaTravis Broughton and Zemaiah Vaughn — but by season’s end, the Ole Miss transfer had played 454 snaps — nearly as many as Broughton did. Battle was a big part of Utah’s cornerback room last season, totaling 32 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, an interception and three pass breakups.
“I think he’s improved a ton, especially since when he first arrived on campus,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He was primarily a receiver in his career ... and I think he’s made a very nice transition and has played good football for us this year. Proud of him.”
Battle is a student of the game, and he saw continual improvement over his year at Utah while working with cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah.
“I’ve seen his knowledge of our system grow exponentially, and it’s been quick,” Shah said. “Miles studies. He likes film. He enjoys being critiqued. He wants to know how he can get better. So whether you’re sending him snapshots of coverages, videos, whatever it is, he’s going to digest it. So I love that he’s a consummate student.”
Morgan Scalley’s defensive schemes also helped prepare Battle for a future NFL job.
“Just the style of defense we played. We played a lot of man defense,” Battle said. “Everything kind of revolved around man, and I feel like that’s what a lot of the NFL teams try to stick with now, so just being able to do that at the highest level in college and then now going to the NFL is just going to translate well for me.”
Battle was a good fit for Utah’s defense, a sure tackler (zero missed tackles on the year) and allowed the lowest reception percentage when targeted (48.8%) among Ute players targeted more than one time in 2023. He has the build to make it onto an NFL team, if not drafted, then as an undrafted free agent.
What were his pro day numbers?
(Via Dane Brugler of The Athletic)
Hand size: 8 3/8 inches.
Arm length: 32 1/8 inches.
Wingspan: 78 1/2 inches.
40-yard dash: 4.37 seconds.
Vertical: 37 inches.
Broad jump: 10 feet, 7 inches.
Shuttle: 4.03 seconds.
Three-cone: 6.84 seconds.
Bench press: 12 reps.
What’s his scouting report?
“Overall, Battle is building his résumé and awareness as a corner but has the length, speed and competitive makeup to be worth a gamble.” — Dane Brugler, The Athletic
Where’s he projected to be drafted?
Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Battle as the 50th best cornerback of the 2024 draft class and tabbed him as a “priority free agent.”
