San Clemente ATH Cole Batson talks commitment to Boston College

Last week, San Clemente athlete [player_tooltip player_id="25142" first="Cole" last="Batson"] withdrew his commitment to the University of Arizona and committed to Boston College. Batson said that when he committed to Arizona in June, the coaching staff at Boston College did not slow down its pursuit of him. "We’ve talked at least four to five times a week since they offered me in May," Batson said. "The day I committed to Arizona, BC’s head coach (Jeff) Hafley said, ’we’re not going to stop recruiting you. We like you and are going to keep reaching out.’ and because of COVID, I wanted to keep my options open." [caption id="attachment_46470" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-46470" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/08/IMG_0577-300x265.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="265" /> Photo: Courtesy of [player_tooltip player_id="25142" first="Cole" last="Batson"][/caption]Batson cited the relationship he has with the Boston College coaching staff along with the school’s alignment with his academic pursuits as the reason for him switching his commitment. "It was more in line with my academic goals. They are a very prestigious school and well-known for their academics and I’m thinking of life after football and the opportunities it would bring me. A degree from there would last me a lifetime," Batson said. "Also my relationships with the coaches, I have a great relationship with Coach (Sean) Duggan who is the outside backers coach and their defensive coordinator Coach (Tem) Lukabu and Coach Hafley. I text them almost everyday and we’ve developed great relationships. They have a great vision for their program for the next few years and it was hard to say no to." Batson did not get to do an official visit with Boston College due to COVID-19, but two weeks ago he traveled to Boston and toured the campus on his own. The football team was practicing and he tried to watch from a distance. "Once I was there, I knew it was home," Batson said. "Boston is an awesome place and I’m excited to move there." When Batson withdrew his commitment to Arizona, his spot was not empty for very long. Within five days, his San Clemente teammate [player_tooltip player_id="25122" first="James" last="Bohls"] committed to Arizona. "We had talked and I knew he wanted to go there. I was trying to convince him to go there for awhile," Batson said. "Once I de-committed a spot opened up again and they re-offered him. It kind of happened organically, we didn’t plan it at all but it’s really cool how it worked out." Batson will play his senior year at San Clemente. This upcoming season is especially meaningful for him and his teammates, since their season ended last season due to <a href="https://www.sanclementetimes.com/schs-football-removed-from-cif-ss-playoffs-due-to-inellible-player/">being disqualified</a> from the CIF-SS playoffs due to an ineligible player playing the entire season. https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1177414809278500866?s=20 "We are fired up. Ever since the day we got disqualified last year, our players have stepped up and everyone’s been working hard," Batson said. "Everyone’s ready to go. We all have the same goals. We are coming for league, coming for CIF, coming for State and we expect nothing less, especially with the talent we have." Batson will be a part of a receiving corps with BYU commit [player_tooltip player_id="25114" first="Bentley" last="Redden"], and returners Anthony Hall, Noa Serpa and Kai Rex. The Tritons’ quarterback will be Lachlan Rosmalen, a junior transfer from St. John Bosco and the running backs will be Bohls and Ashton Whitsett. Defensively, he will play in a secondary with Zack Brunson and Keegan Even.