SAN ANTONIO — Former Brandeis quarterback Jordan Battles had been enrolled at Judson for less than three weeks before the coronavirus pandemic shut down on-campus classes for the remainder of the school year.
While Battles probably would have a tough time finding his way around the expansive Judson campus today, he already feels at home in his new surroundings.
Battles, a dynamic dual-threat quarterback who led Brandeis to the state quarterfinals each of the past two seasons, transferred to Judson on Feb. 25 and started classes the next day. He will be a senior when the next academic year starts.
“I fell in love with the school the second I walked into it,” Battles said Saturday. “It’s a totally different environment being in the locker room and class with those guys. They were very welcoming, and we started clicking right off the bat.
Battles piled up 3,130 yards of total offense and had a hand in 39 touchdowns last year, helping Brandeis reach the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals and finish 13-1. He completed 91 of 166 passing attempts, with seven interceptions, for 1,309 yards and 13 TDs, and rushed for 1,821 yards and 26 TDs. Quick, elusive and strong, Battles (5-foot-10, 182 pounds) averaged 8.28 yards per carry.
Battles said he transferred to Judson to attend school closer to his father’s night job at an Amazon warehouse in northeast Bexar County. He and his father, Shaun Battles, now live in Converse, about five minutes from Judson.
“My dad works a night job, so it was easier for him to go from his night job, which he leaves at 2 or 3 in the morning, and drive (home) five minutes instead of leaving work at 2-3 in the morning and driving 45 minutes,” Battles said. “I always worried about him falling asleep on the road. So, it was safer and smarter for us to move over here. Of course, I had some emotion about leaving.
“Me and all my boys, we had a very emotional day when I had to tell them that I was transferring. I’ve been with those guys since freshman year, so it was a tough transition. But at the end of the day, my family comes first. My father comes first. Whatever keeps my family safe is in my best interest.”
Battles lost his mother, Leslie, in an auto accident on Feb. 28, 2009, when he was a 6-year-old kindergartner. He wears jersey No. 6 as a tribute to his mother, because that’s how old he was when she died.
“I think of her every day,” Battles said.
Shaun Battles calls his son "my best friend."
"We've been through a lot together," Shaun Battles said. "When the story came out that J.B. was transferring, we got a lot of backlash. But not everyone knows the story, or they choose not to hear the true story.
"They just say, 'Oh, my gosh. He's leaving and going to Judson.' Then all of a sudden Judson is going to win the state championship. It's not about that. His mom died in a car accident and I know he's worried about me being on the road so early in the morning after working all day. That's what it's about."
Shaun Battles, 42, puts in long hours working his two daily jobs. He starts his day job as an insurance agent with Aetna on the northwest side of the city near Culebra Road and Loop 410 at 8 a.m. and gets off at 5 p.m.
After going home to catch a one-hour nap and eat dinner, he starts his night job at the Amazon warehouse near north Interstate 35 and Loop 1604 at 8 p.m.
"I don't get off sometimes until 4 in the morning," Battles said. "J.B. and I talked about it and he said, 'We've got to move closer to your night job.' We've always been able to talk. We live five minutes from Judson now and I'm about 10 minutes from my night job.
"It's worked out for us. We love Brandeis, but we just had to move because of my job. Kids move all the time because of their parents' jobs. Jordan is not Kawhi (Leonard) or LeBron (James). He's not getting paid. He doesn't owe anybody an explanation."
Battles’ transfer deals a severe blow to a Brandeis team that will return seven offensive and eight defensive starters from last year’s district championship team.
“I can’t get into all that,” Brandeis coach David Branscom said, when asked about details regarding Battles’ transfer. “I’m not going to say much on it. He’s a good kid and he’s a competitor. Jordan is a great kid. We wish him the best.”
UIL realignment in February moved Brandeis and Clark, another Northside ISD, into a new district with the seven North East ISD schools – effective at the start of the 2020-21 school year.
“I’m very excited about the kids that we’ve got to play quarterback and the team that we have to go compete,” Branscom said. “We feel like we’re going to have a chance to have the best team we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
Battles is the second quarterback in the last four years to transfer to Judson after starting at another school the previous season. Mike Chandler left Johnson in 2018 after his sophomore season at Johnson and was the Rockets’ starter each of the past two years.
Judson coach Rodney Williams said he was on a trip with the Rockets’ softball team when he learned in a phone call that Battles had enrolled at Judson.
“The front office called me,” Williams said Saturday. “I said, ‘OK.’ I didn’t know what to tell them. I can’t stop anybody from doing things. He came in. I have a pretty good one (junior Mike Burroughs) that’s ready to take the reins anyway. He was the backup last year.
“I was very happy with him and his progress, so I was happy either way. But you can’t deny having a guy the caliber that walks through your front door. I didn’t know the kid (Battles). We’ve scrimmaged them the last couple of years. That’s the only time I’ve ever seen him, personally, up close.”
Battles didn’t spend much time in the Rockets’ offseason program because of the pandemic, but Williams saw enough of him to be impressed with his work ethic and attitude.
“He has a little swag about him, and that’s a good thing for him,” Williams said. “We treated him like one of ours when he came in. We didn’t treat him any differently. We talked to him and told him, ‘This is what our expectations are, this is what we allow and this is what we don’t allow. If you want to get in this ship, let’s ride.’
“He had a smile on his face and understood everything. He was very respectful, yes sir, no sir. He was anxious to get going with us. I told him that our kids are very welcoming. I told him, ‘When you walk into this locker room, they’re going to treat you like you’ve been here forever.’ And they did.”
Battles got good vibes from Williams and the two connected quickly.
“Coach Will is a good dude,” Battles said. “That’s for sure. He knows the game. He’s been around. He has those college connections. I put all my trust in Coach Will.”
Lauded for his leadership skills and competitive ferocity, Battles is the type of athlete who takes pride in embracing the grind of preparing himself.
“You’ve got to love the process more than you love the product,” he said.
Williams, who coaches the team’s quarterbacks, meets with them via Zoom conference every Friday at 11:30 a.m.
“He (Battles) already has gotten some of the basics of our offense,” Williams said. “He’s got all my quarterback notes. He has a chance to watch video on his own. He’s a student of the game.”
Judson returns seven starters each way from a team that reached the 6A Division I state quarterfinals and finished 12-2.
Battles expressed confidence that he will be able to pick up the Judson offense quickly when the Rockets get back on the field again.
“It’s football,” he said. “I have a very big mind when it comes to football. I personally feel that I grasp it a lot easier than most people. I would love to be out there on the field with the guys getting a full feel for it (Judson offense), but at the end of the day we’re 17, 18-year-old boys.
"Football is football. Playing at Judson, we’re going to go out there and we’re going to ball no matter what.”
Battles has received scholarship offers from Incarnate Word and Lamar. UIW has recruited Battles as an athlete and Lamar plans to play him at quarterback.
“Man, I just want to play football, and make sure my dad doesn’t have to pay (for his college education),” he said. “If I have to put on weight and become a middle linebacker, I’m going to do it.”
Although he’s been a Judson Rocket for only a short time, Battles if well aware of the school’s football tradition.
“Really, in general, if you’re out of state or in a different city, when you’re talking about football in San Antonio, everybody talks about Converse Judson,” Battles said. “It’s probably one of the most historic football programs that you can think of in San Antonio. That’s just the truth.
“At Judson, everybody is a family, the whole community. It’s not separated. Even if you’ve graduated, you still come to games. You still support the high school and go to youth games. It’s a community around here.”
The Rockets have won six state championships, including one by forfeit, but haven’t taken the big prize since edging Midland 33-32 in 2002.
“It’s going to be a fun season,” Battles said. “Everybody better be on the lookout because Judson is going on a state run. Judson hasn’t won a state championship in a while and 2020 might just be the year."