alt=Jeff CallWhile Utah is losing All-America cornerback Clark Phillips III, who has declared for the NFL draft, the Utes have some talented newcomers joining the secondary.
Cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah welcomes a pair of four-star corners in Smith Snowden and C.J. Blocker as well as Ole Miss grad transfer Miles Battle.
“In his bowl game, he had a similar play to Clark. What a beautiful omen. There are so many things that he brings to the table.” — Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah on Miles Battle
Battle was a four-star wide receiver out of Cy Creek High in Houston before moving over to the defensive side of the ball. In 2022, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Battle recorded 22 tackles, four pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.
Shah likes Battle’s size, length and athletic ability.
“When you have long-levered corners, it just makes it more difficult for a quarterback to fit a ball in a small window. We play incredibly good quarterbacks over and over again,” he said. “We have a tremendous amount of speed coming in with C.J. Blocker and Smith Snowden. These kids have signed and they’re unbelievably fast.
“It’s a good complement to have longer corners so offensive coordinators can’t always simply think they can back-shoulder you in the red zone. We have people that can jump for the ball, too.”
Shah recalled how Battle ended up with the Utes after entering the transfer portal.
“His interest in our program — he knew about us. My first question to Miles was, ‘What do you know about Utah?’ He started rattling off facts that were so impressive,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love you.’ He was like, ‘Coach, I love what you guys do. You develop people and I see it.’
“He was a receiver his first few years. He said, ‘I need some development. And I want to be with a good program that has a coaching staff that’s been in place for a long time and runs the same defense.’ He’s had three different position coaches and several different coordinators.”
What are Shah’s expectations for Battle?
“How can you expect a kid to be good? You can’t. I can say, ‘That kid has a foundation that can be molded into something beautiful.’ His intelligence and the reps that he’s gotten at Ole Miss, he’s been very productive,” he said. “In his bowl game, he had a similar play to Clark. What a beautiful omen. There are so many things that he brings to the table. He’s another quality piece to help us do what we want to do again.”
Blocker (5-11, 161 pounds) is also from Houston. He was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 17 cornerback in the country and No. 33 player in Texas. Blocker helped lead New Caney High to an 11-1 record in his final season. He recorded nine pass breakups and six interceptions, including two pick-sixes and three kick return touchdowns.
Blocker also competed in track & field and helped New Caney win the 2022 district team championship. He was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that set a school-record time of 42.08 seconds.
Snowden (5-10, 173 pounds), out of Skyridge High, was rated the No. 4 recruit in the state of Utah and the No. 30 defensive back in the country on 247Sports. He was also the 2022 Deseret News Mr. Football and the 2022 MaxPreps Utah Football Player of the Year.
Snowden led Skyridge to the 6A state championship in 2022. He finished his high school career with 16 interceptions and 26 passes defended. Snowden also competed in track and field, running a sub-11.00 in the 100 meters.
