The Wolverine

September 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MICHIGAN IN THE PROS Brandon Graham Is Looking To Make Up For Lost Time B BY CHRIS BALAS level. He was one of the Big Ten's top defensive players in three of his four years at Michigan and U-M's two- time defensive MVP, parlaying his career into becoming the Philadel- phia Eagles' first-round draft choice two years ago. Injuries, however, have prevented randon Graham understands what it takes to perform at a high him from being the player most thought he'd be at the next level. A torn ACL late in his rookie season lin- gered through his second year, and while he's languished, others have stepped up, including youngsters Philip Hunt and Vinny Curry. That's led some to speculate that Graham could be shopping for a new team by the end of training camp. "I'm not worried about that," Gra- ham told the Lancaster Journal. "Hey, whatever happens, happens. I'm not really pressuring myself at all. I know what I can do, I know what I'm going to do, and wherever it is, if it's here or somewhere else, they're going to get a good guy." Graham started six games as a rookie in 2010, notching three sacks and two forced fumbles. He played in only three games last season, re- cording only four tackles. Now he's healthy, though, and eager to prove what he can do. "Brandon has a chip on his shoul- Graham played in only three games in 2011, notching four tackles, while recovering from a knee injury suffered during his rookie campaign. der," Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said. "He came back in great shape. He's a competitor, man. He's being challenged and he worked his butt off this offseason. When you look into his eyes, you can see that there's a fire there. I guess maybe he wants to prove everyone wrong. I'm excited to watch him play." Graham has reportedly been prac- ticing with the No. 1 unit because of injuries to starting defensive ends Jason Babin and Trent Cole. "It's more so about me being able and I love it. The sky's the limit for everybody on this team, because ev- erybody's looked good … "All I can do is work hard, and "Everybody's looking for that job, that's what I'm going to do and we'll see when that day comes." to go as hard as I can every play," he said. "Now that I can do that without thinking about what's hurt on my body, that's the best thing right now. 94 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2012 was hobbling through a foot injury to help lead Michigan to a Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech. The Rimington Award winner is Last we saw center David Molk, he MAKING AN IMPRESSION BACK FROM INJURY, DAVID MOLK PHOTO COURTESY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES late he could have a long future in the league. Molk continues to absorb plenty of tutelage from Chargers offensive line coach Mike Sullivan. "There are a lot of little things now healthy and working with the San Diego Chargers' second unit in practice, ESPN.com reported re- cently, leading the website to specu- that you learn," Molk told the North County Times. "Coming out of col- lege, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what it took to play center and I found out there's obviously more to learn. There's a lot of things especially with Sully [Sullivan] and Hal Hunter, the two coaches, and then [starting center] Nick Hardwick who's a great veteran, a Pro Bowl player. "There's a lot more little technique stuff, a lot more little intelligence stuff, reading-the-defense stuff that's still to come. I look forward to it."

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