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Get To Know Your Orange Man - #86, LB P.J. Batten

Let's get to know tight-end-turned-linebacker, P.J. Batten.

By Lisa Nelson
Via Facebook

Name: Aaron "P.J." Batten

Position: Linebacker

Year: Redshirt Freshman

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 227

Hometown: Miami, FL

High School: Dade Christian

2013 Stats: According to his official bio, he "played against Tulane." And that's all they have to say about that.

2014 Projections: He's listed third on the depth chart behind Dyshawn Davis and Josh Kirkland. Linebackers coach, Clark Lea, anticipates some growing pains learning a new position (Batten switches from tight end to linebacker), but hopes he will stick with it.

How'd He Get Here?: Batten had a bunch of offers (Duke, Temple, Western Michigan), but verbally committed to Kent State before choosing Syracuse. George McDonald had a lot to do with it. On a recruiting trip to see someone else, Batten caught McDonald's attention when he ran down the entire field to chase a defender that had just made an interception.

What'd Recruiting Sites Say?: Rivals gave him the ole' three-star treatment, while Scout gave him two.

Money Quote: On George McDonald:

"He's like a father figure but he's our age," Batten said. "He's just a great guy. He keeps it real. He tells you how it's going to go down, and he's not going to lie."

Links of Wonder: Check out a bit more on PJ's move from tight end to linebacker.

Twitterfeed: Pretty sure it's @_OBEYMYSWAG101, but only because the profile photo kinda matches the shot below. The rest of the feed was no help in figuring it out, that's for sure.

Tweets of Wonder:

What Does Shafer Think of Him:

He's a big, tall, long guy that can run and we liked him on both sides of the ball. He's at that point in his career where he's young enough that we can give him a shot at something and see how it goes. He could end up going back to offense, too.

Interesting Nugget O'Interest: Batten was also offered by the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Guess that makes it SU - 2, Minny - 0. Better luck in the future, guys.

Let Us Get a Good Look Atchya: Without much from last season, check out his high school days:


(Via dcsbb)

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