New Jersey DB Elijah Battle talks about his long journey to the NFL
Last week, the Arizona Cardinals picked up West Virginia cornerback Elijah Battle as an undrafted free agent. The 6’0, 193-pound defensive back out of Linden, N.J. is a sneaky good pick up by the Cardinals, even if they don’t know it yet. Battle’s toughness on the field, his desire and ability to follow the best receiver in man coverage, and his high work ethic have him viewed by some as a very underrated prospect.
Growing up playing for Coach Ashley Pierre at Barringer High in Newark, Battle played alongside some of the top football practices in the State, some who have even gone on to be drafted, like Rutgers DE Kemoko Turay. In an interview with NJ Varsity, Battle said, “I played with Kemoko growing up. Me and him used to compete in just about everything. We’d try to beat each other at whoever could get the most sacks and tackles during the season, and just pushed ourselves to being the best we could be.”
Battle’s path to the NFL was not as easy as it was for Turay, who was drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts this year. When Battle came out of high school in 2014, he was ineligible to go to a D1 school due to poor academics.
“Coming out of high school, I didn’t have the grades to go anywhere. I didn’t know much about junior college, but I ended up taking the junior college route. It was tough, and I saw a lot of people that didn’t make it through. But I endured, and after my two years there, I came out with about 14 division one offers. It was rough, man, but I made it through.”
From 2014-2015, Battle went to Dodge City Community College over in Kansas, where he racked up 94 total tackles, 19 pass break ups, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. For Battle, the hardest part of going to a junior college was not on the field, but off of it.
“Roughest part of being at a junior college was probably being on my own out there [in the west]. I had to work for everything, earn everything; the grades, being able to play, nothing was handed to me. A lot of junior college kids, they’re out here with no connections or money, and they have to grind to get through, which can suck because some of them aren’t used to the grind,” Battle said.
Transitioning from junior college to a Division 1 level of play wasn’t easy for Battle, either. Battle initially had trouble adjusting to the speed that D1 football went, as well as playing against bigger, stronger, and smarter competition. But despite all that, it was all worth it once Battle got onto the football field.
Battle said, “My first time playing D1 was against Kansas State in 2016. It was a sold out game, and it was just crazy. The crowd was loud, I could really feel the energy vibe in the stadium. We actually pulled off the comeback to win that game, and I just felt so amazed by where I was at and how I’m lucky enough to have the chance to do this [play football].”
While Battle demonstrated great physical attributes and leadership skills at West Virginia, his stat line does not really stand out. With 73 total tackles and no turnovers in two years with the Mountaineers, Battle will have a massive chip on his shoulder when he goes down to Phoenix.
“Being a junior college kid, I’ll always have the chip on my shoulder. It doesn’t really matter to me that I wasn’t drafted. At the end of the day, I am right where I want to be, and I am going to prove myself to anyone that pushes me,” Battle said.
Practicing alongside future hall of famers in wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and cornerback Patrick Peterson, Elijah will be eager to show them that the last name on the back of his jersey is representative of the type of player her really is.