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2022 Stranahan (FL) 3-star LB Omar Graham participated at the Rivals Miami camp over the weekend, showing his skills against some of the best local talent South Florida had to offer.
“I went alright, I just didn’t get a lot of reps because it wasn’t as organized,” Graham said of the Rivals camp. “But it was a nice experience, I learned about some stuff that I need to work on. Just need to use my hands more when I’m standing up and encountering blockers. Usually I’m just speeding past them, but I need to use my hands more.”
In an effort to narrow down his options, Graham recently cut his list from 10 to 7 schools in early April. The top 7 list included Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, UCF, and the local Miami Hurricanes.
“I narrowed it down because I needed a set of schools to focus on, because I’m trying to have a set decision by late June or early July,” Graham said. “Having 40 schools just contacting me was just hectic, so it was time to cut things down.”
Of course, the Hurricanes have been a program that has been pushing for Graham since January, and the Stranahan star feels his connection with the coaching staff has only grown in recent weeks.
“It’s going great, I feel like our relationship gets better every day,” Graham said of UM. “I’m talking with coach (Jon) Patke, coach (David) Cooney, and coach (Manny) Diaz, sometimes coach Ish (Aristide). They just tell me to stay home and that if I want to play linebacker at the best, LB U, to come to Miami. Some of the best linebackers have come through there – Ray Lewis, Jon Beason.”
For Graham, part of the pull to Miami comes from his family, and he mentioned his father in particular as having an affinity for UM. On the field, though, Graham also brought up the caliber of athlete UM is recruiting to the program under Diaz, and he says he is excited to see Diaz at the helm of the defense in 2021 once again.
“Everybody in my family already knows a lot about the school, that’s one of the first schools that started recruiting me,” Graham said of Miami. “My dad loves the school, he says they have a lot of talent and they’re his favorite school.
“I just love the talent they’re bringing in. They’re getting a lot of great players from around this area, all the top players are going to Miami. And then I like the defense – Manny Diaz, he’s running the defense this year, and he had one of the top defenses when he was DC. [Diaz] said how their D-Line plays, it frees us up and the O-linemen won’t touch us. Their D-Line is so good.”
As for his recruitment in general, major changes have come to Graham’s official visit schedule, as he has shuffled around his visits multiple times in the past. At this point, though, he says he has set four of his five OV’s, including one to the Canes, and UM will receive his first visit of the process.
“I’ve set Auburn, Penn State, FSU, and Miami for June,” Graham said. “Miami, I’ll be going for an unofficial on the 1st and then the 4th I’ll be going on an official. FSU is on the 11th, Penn State I’m trying to go the 18th, and then Auburn on the 25th. I moved some around because I wanted to go to Miami and FSU first. My last one will be to Michigan, we’re still trying to set a date for that.”
Although he has done virtual visits with the coaching staff, Graham has yet to see the UM campus and football facilities in person. What will he be looking for when he finally touches down in Coral Gables?
“I just want to see the atmosphere, see how much I am a priority, and then just see if I can actually live there outside of football. I just want to see if I can be comfortable around the coaches and players.”
In 5 games played for Mighty Dragons during the 2020 season, Graham posted 38 tackles, 11 TFL, 9 sacks and a FR.
“I went alright, I just didn’t get a lot of reps because it wasn’t as organized,” Graham said of the Rivals camp. “But it was a nice experience, I learned about some stuff that I need to work on. Just need to use my hands more when I’m standing up and encountering blockers. Usually I’m just speeding past them, but I need to use my hands more.”
In an effort to narrow down his options, Graham recently cut his list from 10 to 7 schools in early April. The top 7 list included Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, UCF, and the local Miami Hurricanes.
“I narrowed it down because I needed a set of schools to focus on, because I’m trying to have a set decision by late June or early July,” Graham said. “Having 40 schools just contacting me was just hectic, so it was time to cut things down.”
Of course, the Hurricanes have been a program that has been pushing for Graham since January, and the Stranahan star feels his connection with the coaching staff has only grown in recent weeks.
“It’s going great, I feel like our relationship gets better every day,” Graham said of UM. “I’m talking with coach (Jon) Patke, coach (David) Cooney, and coach (Manny) Diaz, sometimes coach Ish (Aristide). They just tell me to stay home and that if I want to play linebacker at the best, LB U, to come to Miami. Some of the best linebackers have come through there – Ray Lewis, Jon Beason.”
For Graham, part of the pull to Miami comes from his family, and he mentioned his father in particular as having an affinity for UM. On the field, though, Graham also brought up the caliber of athlete UM is recruiting to the program under Diaz, and he says he is excited to see Diaz at the helm of the defense in 2021 once again.
“Everybody in my family already knows a lot about the school, that’s one of the first schools that started recruiting me,” Graham said of Miami. “My dad loves the school, he says they have a lot of talent and they’re his favorite school.
“I just love the talent they’re bringing in. They’re getting a lot of great players from around this area, all the top players are going to Miami. And then I like the defense – Manny Diaz, he’s running the defense this year, and he had one of the top defenses when he was DC. [Diaz] said how their D-Line plays, it frees us up and the O-linemen won’t touch us. Their D-Line is so good.”
As for his recruitment in general, major changes have come to Graham’s official visit schedule, as he has shuffled around his visits multiple times in the past. At this point, though, he says he has set four of his five OV’s, including one to the Canes, and UM will receive his first visit of the process.
“I’ve set Auburn, Penn State, FSU, and Miami for June,” Graham said. “Miami, I’ll be going for an unofficial on the 1st and then the 4th I’ll be going on an official. FSU is on the 11th, Penn State I’m trying to go the 18th, and then Auburn on the 25th. I moved some around because I wanted to go to Miami and FSU first. My last one will be to Michigan, we’re still trying to set a date for that.”
Although he has done virtual visits with the coaching staff, Graham has yet to see the UM campus and football facilities in person. What will he be looking for when he finally touches down in Coral Gables?
“I just want to see the atmosphere, see how much I am a priority, and then just see if I can actually live there outside of football. I just want to see if I can be comfortable around the coaches and players.”
In 5 games played for Mighty Dragons during the 2020 season, Graham posted 38 tackles, 11 TFL, 9 sacks and a FR.
