Graham Has "Great" Visit To ND
It’s safe to say Thomas Graham Jr.’s official visit to Notre Dame this past weekend was really good, unless you’re saying it to his father.
“It wasn’t just really good, it was freaking really great,” Thomas Graham Sr. said.
“From the time we got off the plane, the visit was great. The coaches did what they had to do.”
The 2017 California cornerback and his father took an unofficial visit to South Bend back in March and afterward, Graham Sr. wasn’t shy about saying Notre Dame was his favorite school. This weekend’s return visit did nothing to change that feeling.
“Personally, just me speaking as his dad, I’d be happy if he just stopped the recruiting process and committed to Notre Dame,” Graham Sr. said. “But he wants to enjoy the process and I don’t blame him because you only get one chance.
“I was sold from the first visit. I think Thomas wants to stay on course about going on his visits and seeing what’s out there. Notre Dame raised the bar so high that it’ll be hard for anyone to catch up. He still wants to give everybody else who has been in this process with him an opportunity to prove themselves.”
Graham Jr. is looking at taking official visits to Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon and potentially others with a decision likely to come about a week or so after his final game for Rancho Cucamonga High School.
This weekend’s official visit to Notre Dame will likely have a tremendous impact on whatever that decision ends up being.
While Graham Sr. was sold months ago, this visit gave him a chance to show his wife, Tanesha, why.
“I can’t be happier that Tanesha was there to be able to see what I saw the first time,” Graham Sr. said.
As expected, their meeting with academic advisor Adam Sargent was memorable.
“You can tell he’s legit,” Graham Sr. said. “It’s like he wants the kids to graduate more than coaches want to win games. That’s how his approach is. As long as they do what they’re supposed to do, the kids are going to graduate. That’s our number one thing. Football is temporary and it’s more about getting the degree for us.”
Graham Sr. said his wife “was real excited” about Sargent’s presentation.
“Sargent talked to Tanesha and said, ‘Ma’am, I guarantee you if Thomas does what he’s supposed to do, he’s going to walk out of here with a degree that means something. He’s going to be a respectable young man when he leaves here,’” Graham Sr. recalled.
The Grahams were able to experience a true sense of family with the coaching staff and beyond.
“Even the host that we had was incredible,” Graham Sr. said. “The drivers that we had going back and forth, they really engaged in having great conversations with us about where we’re from, what we do. They were more engaged with me and Tanesha than they were with Thomas.
“By the end of the trip, we wanted to stay because that’s how much they made us feel that we should be in South Bend.”
Despite the Irish’s 36-28 loss to Michigan State, the game was also a highlight of the trip.
“The game was incredible,” Graham Sr. said. “There were a couple mistakes here and there, but besides that, the kids played pretty hard. The fans were great. Being from SoCal, if USC was losing or UCLA was losing, the people would have left. But the crowd stayed to watch the whole game. It was just a great atmosphere to be around.”
While there have been some mistakes made by Notre Dame’s secondary this season, Graham Sr. understands that doesn’t just mean his son would slide right into a starting role if he chose to play for the Irish.
“Those guys on the backend are young,” he said. “I don’t think people understand the process of learning the new system they’re doing in college. In high school, you used to be dominant. When you become a freshman, you start all over again. You’ve got to learn what Coach Todd Lyght and them are teaching them on the backend. It seems easier than what it is.
“I told Thomas, ‘Maybe, you could play back there.’ But as a freshman, would he make the same mistakes those freshmen are making back there? I don’t know if Thomas would make those same mistakes. I think Thomas could play right away. Coach (Brian) Kelly and all of the coaches on defense believe he could play right away, but they let us know he has to learn the defense first. He has to learn the playbook.”
Graham Sr. was impressed with defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder’s intensity.
“I love that guy,” he said. “He just let Thomas know that he’ll teach him as much as he can teach him and that once he understands these concepts, it’ll be great. He told Thomas, ‘If you can understand this, you’ve got a chance at playing right away.’
“We sat in his office and talked for about 30 minutes, not just about football, but about life. He wants to put Thomas in a position to be successful on and off the field.”
But the reasons for Graham Sr.’s affection for Notre Dame go well beyond the playing field.
“I can guarantee you any one of those coaches who is recruiting Thomas who had a kid in Thomas’ position would send their kid to Notre Dame or Stanford,” said Graham Sr., who also added Vanderbilt to that list.
“If anybody comes to recruit my son and tells me that those schools are not the best schools for their kid, I would tell them that they’re lying and to get out of my house. In reality, for them it’s about football, but for us, it’s about the next 20 to 30 years after football.
“Thomas is going to go into a program at 17 years old and when he becomes 21 or 22, he’s got to step into the real world. From the time he’s 22 until he retires, he has to earn a living. We want to make sure he’s able to earn an honest living being an honest and great American to be able to live that American dream.”