North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Graham's Career Night As Receiver
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2010
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. -
But Saturday night, the junior from Raleigh's Wakefield High School revealed to the near sell-out crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium what he has worked on in the offseason: his ability to gain yards after catching a pass.
He scored two touchdowns in the 48-7 victory over Western Carolina, the first time in his career he has registered two in the same game. The first was a simple post pattern down the middle of the field after the Wolfpack recovered a muffed punt at the Western Carolina 26-yard line.
But the second was a particularly impressive play in which Graham caught a short pass on the right side, raced to the middle of the field, then found daylight in the left corner. He outran his opponents and his teammates to get to the end zone, giving the Wolfpack a 14-7 lead that it never relinquished.
"We've been saying all along that T.J. is much improved as a receiver," NC State coach Tom O'Brien said. "It started in the spring and carried over into preseason camp. He's become more of a threat when he gets his hands on the ball.
"He's made more of those runs and made people miss like he did early in the game. I think that is a real positive for us and our passing game, when you throw him in with Owen [Spencer] and Jarvis [Williams], along with Darrell Davis and Steven Howard, we have some guys who can make plays."
Graham has always been a big-play threat in the kicking game. As a freshman, he averaged 25.1 yards per kick return and set a school record with a total of 1,028 return yards on the season. He matched a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return against Boston College.
Last year, before he missed the final five games of the season because of a broken leg, he scored on a 93-yard kickoff return against Duke.
Saturday, however, Graham was the receiving corps' biggest threat. He caught set career highs with six receptions for 96 yards, with his two touchdowns. Spencer, no surprise, had the game's longest catch, a 60-yarder down the middle of the field in the second quarter. He caught four passes for 92 yards on the night. Tight end George Bryan added three for 23 yards and eight other players caught at least one pass, including Williams with two for 37 yards.
But, in this game, Graham accomplished his goal of becoming more of a go-to, big-time player in the passing game. And that elated the coaching staff.
"I've been hounded by the coaches, saying that I haven't been doing enough with my athletic talent, that I have just been getting by," said Graham, who missed more than half of last season with a knee injury. "This off-season, I took it to heart. I made some strides to be more versatile and make plays.
"Before, I have just been in the shadows of Jarvis and Owen at receiver. I was happy to finally break out and show people what I am able to do, that I am not just a return specialist. I can catch the ball."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
