Battles, Bay products lead way for area Division athletes

Former Marianna High School running back Bradley Battles is making a mark at USF, but he’s not the only area player vying for time at a Football Bowl Subdivision program.

Previous Bay Tornadoes Jeremiah Warren, Bert Reed, Jordan Byas, Khyri Thornton and DeAndre Richardson and a host of area players at Troy University aim to better their teams’ chances this season. That is in addition to area talent scattered in Texas, Mississippi and other spots in Florida.

Battles had a tumultuous start to his career, being sent home for a brief time while a class credit issue was worked out last fall. He played both running back and safety in high school, and originally was to be used on defense at USF.

Battles switched back to running back this spring and immediately rose up the depth chart. The 5-foot-8, 201-pound redshirt freshman was listed as a co-starter for the Bulls’ home opener on Saturday against Stony Brook along with senior Moise Plancher, who is fighting through a shoulder injury. Coach Skip Holtz said Battles and three other running backs were close, and all should get carries this weekend.

Battles is joined by Warren (6-4, 315), who is the Bulls’ starting left guard this season after being a first-string left tackle a year ago. The junior was a reserve for most of 2008 and made an impression in the spring of 2009 to solidify his place in the lineup.

Battles looks to achieve the kind of success Reed has had in his Seminole career. The speedy wide receiver led FSU with 60 receptions as a sophomore in 2009 and became one of Christian Ponder’s most trusted targets. Reed enters this weekend’s opener against Samford as a backup wide receiver on the depth chart, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be riding the bench.

Thornton, Byas and Richardson also are listed as backups for Southern Mississippi, Duke and FAU, respectively.

Richardson (6-2, 180) made strides in the fall and is primed for production in his redshirt freshman season. He’s No. 2 at ‘Z’ wide receiver, but was listed as “pushing Avery Holley for a starting position.” Former Arnold product Chris Jackson also plays for FAU at fullback, but was not listed on the depth chart.

Thornton is a 6-3, 300-pound redshirt freshman defensive tackle. Previous Arnold standout Jeremy Hester also is on the Southern Mississippi roster, but the running back likely will be redshirted.

Byas is a 6-2, 205 sophomore safety. Both Byas and Thornton were projected to play in openers, Southern Miss meeting South Carolina on Thursday night and Duke debuting Saturday.

Former Blountstown standout Jon Lockhart is the other area athlete competing in the ACC. The 6-0, 188, prospect was recruited as a defensive back and played special teams as a freshman for Georgia Tech. He was not listed on the Week 1 two-deep depth chart leading into the opener against South Carolina State.

Elsewhere

Port St. Joe native Ash Parker is in his senior season with FIU. Parker (6-0, 215) is a defensive back who was sixth on the team in tackles as a sophomore and missed all but one game due to injury last season. No depth chart for FIU was released prior to its opener against Rutgers. … Rutherford standout Sean Watson (6-2, 295) is in his first season at defensive tackle at Baylor. Barring major injuries he likely will redshirt. … Rutherford’s Darius Parham, Mosley’s Jarod Lee, Arnold’s Johnny Gray, Port St. Joe’s Tyler Sizemore and Marianna’s Tommy Stephens are on Troy’s roster and are looking to crack the two-deep chart.