The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 21 California powerhouse Servite High School, knocking heads with an array of major college-bound talent. Servite went 10-3 in Graham's senior season, making it to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship. Max- Preps ranked the squad in the top 10 nationally. Graham gives a ton of credit to for- mer Servite head coach Troy Thomas, while recognizing that his own skill set benefited from considerable challenges. "I played in one of the toughest leagues in the country in high school," he confirmed. "I feel like that prepared me. I was going against the best com- petition. I was going against D-1 guys every game. "That prepared me well, and right when I came into Michigan, all the coaches helped me flow and get to know the playbook. I came into spring ball and had a few mistakes early on, but then I got used to the system and started to play fast. I started making plays from then on." He admitted to some amaze- ment over his early run with Michigan's starters, albeit with an added bluntness regarding his situation. "I was a little surprised, but that's what I came here to do," he said. "I came here to play Michigan football, early, and try to contribute as fast as I could." Coming to Ann Arbor to play early and actually doing so are two different items, many have learned over the years. Graham pulled it off because of a combination of physical and mental attri- butes, according to Jansen. " I t c o m e s d o w n to DNA," Jansen posited. "He was just physically ready where he was able to go in. We see a lot of times where guys come in and they're physically ready at every po- Last season, Graham played in all 14 Michigan games with a pair of starts, and he shared the Wolverines' Defensive Freshman of the Year plaudits. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL