WR Miles Battle ready to help carry on NWO tradition of excellence
OXFORD, Miss. — At 6-foot-4, Miles Battle is the tallest of the Rebels’ wide receivers, and with a nice combination of size and speed, the redshirt freshman looks to stand out and help continue the rich tradition of Ole Miss “Nasty Wide Outs.”
Battle, a four-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN, signed with Ole Miss in the Class of 2018 and spent last season learning from Rebel greats A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, and DaMarkus Lodge.
Miles Battle in this year’s Grove Bowl. (Photo: Amanda Swain, The Rebel Walk)
He maintained his freshman year of eligibility in 2018 by not playing in more than four games; however, that doesn’t mean he didn’t gain some valuable experience in those contests.
Wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler believes Battle’s redshirt season will be helpful for the Houston, Texas native—especially since two of the games in which he played were against SEC West foes, Auburn and Texas A&M.
“He got thrown into some big moments,” Coach Peeler said of Battle. “They weren’t always against non-conference foes, so he did get some SEC experience.”
As for Battle, he believes 2019 will be his breakout year.
“I want to shock the world because I really didn’t get to show much last year. I feel like I’m going to have a breakout season.”
Ole Miss WR Miles Battle
Coach Peeler wouldn’t be at all surprised to see his young receiver excel this fall. “He had a really good spring, really good offseason,” he said.
“He was toward the top, if not the top, at our record boards for the receiver room in the weight room and on the grass running. If we can continue to get him going in the right direction with that, then I think the moment won’t be too big for him.”
WR coach Jacob Peeler on Miles Battle
Battle knows he and his fellow wide receivers have big shoes to fill, and he believes they’ll do it as a cohesive unit.
“Everyone’s just trying to keep the NWO alive,” Battle said.
“We want the whole group to shine; we don’t care which individual it is,” he added. “We’re all talented players and we’re just ready to show what we can do. With those three guys (Brown, Metcalf and Lodge), we had some depth–we just didn’t get to play. We all have something to show and something to prove.”
Derrell Hart
Derrell has covered Ole Miss athletics in the past for Rebels247 at 247Sports. He attended Delta State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Biology. He is currently pursuing his Pharm.D. at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy with an expected graduation of May, 2020.
