Jimmy Graham turning heads at Senior Bowl

Former UM tight end Jimmy Graham is one of two Hurricanes competing in this week's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. He and linebacker Darryl Sharptonwere given a week-long opportunity to impress NFL scouts.

So far, Graham has garnered the most attention. Even though it's early, he could work his way into becoming a mid-to early-round pick in April's Draft.

"I think it's been a good week for me," Graham said. "I think it's been a great week and great experience so far." 

Graham said he mostly received positive feedback from scouts and coaches. The one thing he needs to improve is blocking.

"I've been told I've got great hands," Graham said. "I can get up (vertically)and I can catch touchdowns. They've been teaching me all the little (blocking) techniques and all that stuff."

The most time-consuming thing of the process are interviews with the teams, mostly general managers. His sessions last longer because he's so new to the scene. Graham, a former UM basketball player, played football for the first time since his freshman year of high school. He's met three representatives from each NFL team, calling it "intimidating."

"I've been pretty busy for the last couple days," Graham said. "Kind of coming from nowhere, I guess you could say people had a lot of questions. I've met with a few (general managers) and everyone asks pretty much why did you switch from basketball to football. I just tell them it was my first love."

Another highlight to experience was spending most of the week working with former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. He said he's earned a greater respect for one of college football's most popular players. 

"Me and him train together every day and I've had the opportunity over the last couple days to get to know him," Graham said. "He's a great kid and kind of everything you see in the media, that's true. He just has a great heart. And beyond everything, he works his tail off."


(shandel richardson - sun-sentinel.com)