The graduation of both starting cornerbacks from 2023 left the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team entering this season with uncertainty at the position.
Or at least that was the outside perception.
Secondary coach Korel Smith chose to look at the situation differently, saying he had “at least six or seven guys” he felt comfortable with playing a significant role at cornerback.
With the regular season about to enter its final month, injury-related attrition has hit UTC at cornerback and tested Smith’s theory. As some players have gone down, though, new options have continued to step up for the Mocs (5-3, 4-1 Southern Conference), who have won their past five games heading into a matchup with Western Carolina (4-4, 3-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
The latest example is former Tyner Academy standout Jeremiah Batiste, a junior who transferred to UTC ahead of the 2023 season after three years at Football Bowl Subdivision program Miami of Ohio. In a season when the Mocs have shown a tendency for takeaways, he is among five players tied for the team lead in interceptions with two — with each coming pretty improbably in Batiste’s case.
His first pick was on Oct. 12 in UTC’s 41-10 romp at Furman while he was being blocked by a Paladins receiver but quickly reacted to a pass thrown in his direction. His second came in last Saturday’s 31-10 home win over Virginia Military Institute, when he took a pass out of the hands of the Keydets receiver along the sideline and got a foot down before falling out of bounds.
That pushed the team total of passes intercepted this season to 19, which is tied for second in the Football Championship Subdivision with Nicholls and trails fellow SoCon program Mercer’s 16.
With junior transfer Taylor Smallwood out since the Mocs’ 10-7 home loss to Mercer on Sept. 14 and freshman Beni Mwamba banged up, Batiste made his second start of the season last week and could be in the lineup again Saturday versus the Catamounts, whose 329.9 passing yards per game lead the FCS.
Whatever role injuries might play, UTC coaches made clear that any opportunities Batiste receives have been earned through hard work.
“You couldn’t really tell if he was on the scout field or over there with the first group, he just worked the same way all the time, and that’s a testament to that young man,” UTC head coach Rusty Wright said. “He’s just put his head down and just tried to get better and better and better, and it’s paying off for him. He works extremely hard trying to be good, and he’s always, since he’s been here, worked hard in the offseason, spring and summer and during the fall. No matter if he was playing or not, he was trying to get better and doing what he’s doing and even in the classroom, too.
“I’m really proud of how he’s just continued to grow, and he’s a big factor for us now.”
A converted receiver, the 5-foot-11, 183-pound Batiste had never played cornerback before transferring to UTC. He was mostly relegated to the scout team last season before working his way into the rotation this year.
“Last year, he wasn’t a guy for us,” Smith said. “He was struggling a little bit, but he came to me every Sunday after the game and asked me how can he get on the field on special teams, on defense. I told him he kind of missed his window in camp, but in the spring he got his chance to prove himself to us that he could be a guy.
“Then you saw the change in meetings. He was the only kid taking notes every meeting; he had no MAs (missed assignments) in camp. He knew what he was doing.”
Batiste called it “trusting the process.”
“This year has been a learning year, being able to just dissect the game from a defensive standpoint,” he said. “When I wasn’t playing, I was still getting better due to the ones around me, the guys in the room pushing each other to get better. You always have to be ready when your name and number is called and then just don’t lose faith.
“I kept the faith and just kept working.”
Rankings revealed
The Mocs moved up one spot in the Stats Perform Top 25 poll to No. 18 on Monday while remaining 25th in the AFCA coaches poll.
They were not one of the teams listed Wednesday when the FCS playoff committee revealed a current top 10 for the 24-team bracket that will be released on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.
However, the only SoCon team to beat UTC this season was the only SoCon team listed by the committee as Mercer (7-1, 4-1) was No. 8. The Bears’ lone league loss to date this season was on the road to Samford, which won 55-35 on Oct. 19.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.