Post by mercury on Dec 2, 2011 21:42:14 GMT -5
Early Years
Jimmy Graham was born on December 13th, 1989 in the city of Tacoma, Washington. His parents, Bill and Charlotte Graham decided that one kid was enough when Jimmy was brought into the world. From an early age, as young as five years old, his father noticed that Jimmy was always one of the bigger and more athletic kids in his school and amongst his friends. He began to work with Jimmy in many different sports trying to determine what he was best at. First it was baseball, it didn't go all that well. Jimmy was bored with the slow pace of baseball and he was often letting his attention drift away during practices and games. Next was basketball and it was an instant connection. Jimmy loved running up and down the court at a fast pace. And being bigger then the other kids, he had the advantage in the key. However his father knew that he did not have the natural skills to really progress in the sport of basketball. Finally this led to football. Jimmy started football when he was 8 years old playing for the local pee-wee football team and he was a natural fit. He played quarterback, only because he was faster then most of the other kids and stronger, and in pee-wee football all they did was run the ball. After watching Jimmy throughout his first season of football, it was clear that he seemed to have the size, skills, and speed to make something of himself in the game.
Jimmy was not only naturally good at the game but he was passionate about it as well. He continued to improve throughout junior high and he had good praise from everyone that saw him play as he headed to high school. He starred on the Stadium High's football team. While the team itself was not very good, it was apparent that Graham had Division 1 talent and he was being highly sought after by schools all over the country. Once he got to high school he was tried out at the wide receiver position because of his size and speed and he instantly fit right into the position with ease. Most college teams wanted him to become a tight end because he was six-foot six but Jimmy knew he had what it took to be a wide receiver. After receiving many offers from schools wanting him to become a tight end, one school that told him he would be a wide receiver caught his eye. That was the Miami Hurricanes. He decided to take their offer and traveled all the way to the opposite side of the United States to play the position he wanted to play.
College
While in Miami, Jimmy progressed fast. His talents were growing at a much more rapid pace than anyone would have thought, even the Hurricanes coaching staff. He instantly became the top threat in the passing game and the guy that quarterback Jacory Harris loved to rely on. The thing that many thought would force him to play the tight end position, his height, is actually what helped him become such a force split out wide. Many of the corner backs could not contend with him physically and then add on his above-average speed, and it was more often then not, a nightmare for opponents.
Jimmy played all four seasons at Miami and made three All-ACC 1st team squads. He averaged 71 catches, 1,305 yards, and 8.7 touchdowns per season. These types of numbers were something not often seen in the ACC and it put Jimmy on many NFL teams draft board. During the off-season after his senior season, Jimmy was preparing to head off to the draft combine and eventually become a NFL player. That soon was derailed after he suffered a torn acl injury during a workout. Instantly his draft status took a huge dip and he was being labeled as an injury-risk player. Original projections on Jimmy had him going as high as the second round but after the injury, those projections had gone from as high as the fifth round to not drafted at all. With the worries that he would possibly go undrafted, Jimmy decided to forgo the NFL and join the UFSL. Another professional football league that had just opened its doors to an inaugural season.
UFSL
Jimmy entered his name into the UFSL draft and he was selected 16th overall to the New York Nightmare. This was a dream destination for Jimmy as he had quickly formed a relationship with head coach and fellow player, Usain Bolt. The Nightmare figure to be one of, if not the, most dynamic offense in the league. So far the preseason games have taken place and while it was less then desirable statistics for Jimmy and the offense, he knows the potential that he has to be dominate in this league. Although many NFL scouts believe that this is just a chance for Jimmy to show that he is fully recovered from his torn acl, this could be Jimmy's final destination for the rest of his football life.
Pros
Catching: Jimmy Graham has some of the biggest hands in the UFSL, which helps him immensely with the ability to snatch any ball thrown to him. He was taught at an early age to use his hands and not his body when catching passes. It is not showing up big in his young career as he rarely drops a pass. He provides great comfort to a quarterback because they know that they can just throw a pass up and Jimmy can usually come down with it.
Speed: While Jimmy does not have elite speed, he is still good enough to cause separation with the defender. The thing about Jimmy's speed is he has what scouts like to call deceptive speed. He is such a big receiver that when he runs, it doesn't look all that fast, but on the field it is certainly noticeable to defenders. He will often catch corner backs off-guard with his surprising speed and once he does that once, it causes the defender to have to give him some cushion at the line.
Size: Jimmy is one of the biggest wide receivers you will ever see play professional football. He stands at six-feet, six-inches tall and weighs 225 pounds. This is prototypical tight end size, but as mentioned before, he has the skill and speed to play out wide at his size. This is certainly used to his advantage as his main threat is the ability to win jump balls in the end zone. He is often the first, second, and sometimes third attempt in the end zone when his team is inside the five. They know that all it takes is time before Jimmy is going to come up with a great jump ball catch for a touchdown.
Cons
Agility: Even though Jimmy has good speed for his size, he does lack the ability to make quick cuts during routes and with the ball. This will sometimes cause his routes to be a bit sloppy or slow-developing. Fortunately his size usually makes up for that but at the same time his inability to get to the peak of his route quick enough leads to the quarterback being pressured often. It is uncertain if he can ever gain that elusiveness being such a big receiver.
Leadership: It isn't all that uncommon for a wide receiver to not be one of the leaders in the locker room but it is still a weakness in Jimmy's overall game. He is a quiet player on and off the field and would rather follow then lead. This has often frustrated his catches because they know that the players would listen to him if he would ever speak up. It is seemingly something that coaches will have to chalk up as something they can't force him to become.
Willingness to block: Even with all the size that Jimmy has, he is often not the guy throwing the key block to a big run play. This sometimes causes the offense to run the opposite side of the field because they know that he does not like to block. And beyond that he is often brought off the field during run plays because of his unwillingness to throw a block. This is something that he will have to start doing if he wants to ever be considered as a complete football player.
