5: Tra Battle
Tra Battle walked on the Georgia football team in 2003 out of Mary Persons High in Forsyth, GA, and immediately played as a nickel back. Battle played four seasons, becoming a team captain in 2007.
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Battle’s finest hour was a three-interception game against Auburn in 2006. Also in 2006 he had 154 return yards to place him fourth on the Georgia all-time season return list. Battle had a brief one-year NFL career before returning to Athens to complete his degree in 2013.
The diminutive Battle also played a pivotal role in the famed 2004 “Fourth and Dumb” Georgia – Georgia Tech game. Tech had penetrated midfield in the fourth quarter when Reggie Ball found the greatest wide receiver in the world, Calvin Johnson, running free in front of the Redcoat Band. As Ball launched a pass high and long, Tra Battle reversed direction and sprinted, arriving with the ball. The ball landed high in Johnson’s hands but the 5’10” Battle climbed the ladder to separate the football from the Yellow Jacket.
Later, while being pursued by David Pollack, Ball threw deep to a Georgia fan on fourth down to seal the victory.
Next: One Shining Moment