Profiles In Terpage – A Countdown To The Football Season: Avery Graham
By petevolk
A recurring series where we will profile every player and coach on Maryland’s roster, counting down to kick-off against Miami. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile a great special teams player who will have a chance to see action at corner this year.
Avery Graham, Sophomore (RS), Cornerback
Stats:
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 195
Ratings: Three stars, #69 cornerback by Rivals; three stars, #105 running back by Scout; #116 safety by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 4.23
High School Stats (senior year): 84 tackles, three sacks and four interceptions (one for a touchdown), 620 yards rushing with four touchdowns on 51 carries, nine receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns.
High School Stats (junior year): 76 tackles, 900 yards rushing on 90 attempts for 14 touchdowns, four kickoff returns for touchdowns
College Stats (through one season): Eleven tackles (seven solo), two kickoff returns for 38 yards
High School: Clarksburg High School (Clarksburg, Md.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Graham was a local star at Clarksburg High on both sides of the ball, and when Maryland offered in April of 2008, he committed nearly immediately. The Terps were his first offer, and the opportunity to play close to home as well as pursue his desired career as a veterinarian were too much to pass up. Graham comes from an up-and-coming program at Clarksburg, where they went from 3-6 in their first year of existence in 2006 to 12-1 and competing for a state title in 2008. He was quick enough to be stud at running back and play defensive back, but strong enough to play weakside linebacker at Clarksburg, where he excelled.
The defensive back was also an excellent track runner in high school, and was a part of Maryland’s track team as a sprinter this past spring.
Nickname:
Avery Graham, Pet Detective:
"“A lot of people don’t know I like animals. They don’t see that I’m the type that would like animals, but I’ve been raising animals all my life. I have birds, I have a macaw and a horse, a lot of dogs and goats and cows. I live on a farm out here. I also did something called arabbing in Baltimore. We got on the carriage with a horse and we’d sell fruit. I used to do that when I was younger.”"
Career Highlight:
Running a 4.23 40-yard dash. I mean, holy hell.
Career Lowlight:
Suffering a groin injury that forced him to miss spring ball.
Arbitrary Top Five List:
I was going to do something about graham crackers here, but in my “research” I discovered Reverend Sylvester Graham and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg invented graham crackers and corn flakes, respectively, for the same reason – they believed eating bland foods would get people to stop masturbating. So there’s that.
Dream season:
Graham secures the starting spot opposite Cameron Chism, and thrives in the role, using his speed to unleash his potential as a terror to ACC offenses.
Nightmare season:
Graham’s groin injury acts up, limiting his playing time all year and hampering his ability.
2011 prospectus:
In all honesty, Avery Graham is probably more of a track athlete than he is a football player. He’s shown that ability in spurts on the field for Maryland already – playing well in limited time as a nickelback last year and playing extremely well on special teams. Graham is in the mix for one of the starting cornerback jobs, competing with Dexter McDougle and Trenton Hughes.
The kid’s got an unbelievable amount of speed – that’s for sure. There’s not a wide receiver in the country that will be able to outrun him. He’s showed pretty good coverage skills so far, and coach Bradford and crew will look to take advantage of his raw abilities this year. Don’t be surprised if he’s one of the breakout stars on Maryland’s defense this season.
Up Next:
The next player we are profiling went to high school with Torrey Smith.