Graham Locks In Officials
The 2017 California defensive back helped his Rancho Cucamonga squad to a 36-7 victory over Temecula Chaparral on Friday night. While Graham wasn’t tested much on defense, he did manage to haul in five passes on offense, but still wasn’t satisfied.
“It felt good,” Graham said. “I think I could do better, but I was pretty proud of myself on offense. I made some pretty good blocks for my teammates and leading by example.
“I missed one or two tackles, a big sack. Just getting myself more involved, I feel like that’s something I can fix.”
Graham is joined in the Rancho Cucamonga secondary by another top 2017 prospect, Jaylon Redd, so he wasn’t surprised by the lack of passing.
“I wish they would have tried to test – not me – but our defense more passing the ball, but it is what it is,” he said. “Most teams are doing that, so you just get used to it.
“I play both corner and safety, so I’m still active in the game. They just don’t really pass the ball.”
Just one game into the season, Graham is confident in his team’s potential.
“To be honest, I think we can win state,” he said. “We’re the biggest underdogs in the state of California. They might talk about our secondary and stuff like that, but they don’t give our full team enough credit. I feel we’ve put in the work and we have the senior leadership and team to go further than people expect. We’re going to shock some people this year. We’re going to shock the world.”
Graham is doing his best to make sure his teammates share his beliefs.
“I just tell them, ‘I believe in you guys,’” he said. “We don’t argue. It’s just more like, ‘Hey, look. This is what we’ve got to do. We all criticize each other. We all take it in. We want to win this. We have to do this.’ We’re just there for each other no matter what. We’re brothers on and off the field. I really feel like that’s a big, crucial part to our success because we are a family. We’re one unit.”
On the recruiting side of things, Graham has already locked in four official visits.
He’ll be at Nebraska this weekend before traveling to South Bend for Notre Dame’s game against Michigan State on Sept. 17th. In October, he’ll take a trip to Arizona and in November, he’ll head up to Oregon. He isn’t sure what he’s going to do with his fifth and final official visit.
“I’m going to take it, but I’m not sure where,” he said.
He’s looking forward to taking his officials.
“It’s pretty cool because now I know they’re going to throw the red carpet out,” said Graham. “I just want to enjoy it because it’s only once in a lifetime.”
He visited Notre Dame back in March and both he and his father were blown away. He’s looking forward to the return trip.
“I just want to see if the coaches stay the same and how it is on gameday,” said Graham. “(The coaches) want me there and tell me I’m one of their top targets and they hope that I give them a chance.”
Graham’s parents will go with him on each of his official visits and could play a major role in his final decision.
He’s looking to make a decision the first week of December.