Jimmy Graham has modeled himself after fellow Hurricane star Shockey

BATON ROUGE -- If the New Orleans Saints tried to clone one of their players, Drew Brees would surely be the first selection.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey would likely not be. Though a proven, versatile force at tight end for the Saints and previously the New York Giants, the controversial Shockey has never been what you might refer to as a role model.

Last week in the third round of the NFL Draft, the Saints selected a tight end from Shockey's old school -- the University of Miami - named Jimmy Graham, who likes to model himself after Shockey -- on the field that is.

"When I came to play for the University of Miami, it was his film that I was watching," Graham said last week. "It was his Pro Day tape that I watched to prepare for my Pro Day. So I know his game, and I have kind of tried to pattern myself after him."

Graham (6-foot-7, 260 pounds) only watched that film of Shockey (6-5, 251) last year as the 2009 season was his first in college football as a fifth-year senior. He went to Miami from Charis Preparatory Academy in North Carolina as a Street & Smith honorable mention All-American basketball player. As a senior in the 2008-09 season, Graham averaged 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 points a game. His strength was shot blocking as he registered 36 of those and finished his career with 104 blocks for eighth in school history.

In his one season of football for Miami, Graham caught 17 passes for 213 yards and five touchdowns. Hence, Saints coach Sean Payton's reluctance to agree with his scouts on the drafting of Graham.

"Honestly, in the process, I was probably the one who was skeptical in the beginning in regards to the idea," Payton said. "I kept looking for reasons to not like the player and couldn't find any. You're waiting to hear that we have to develop his hands or that he's going to struggle learning at first. But he has a unique skill set. He really does. He catches it very efficiently, so it's exciting. I think that was one specific player that everyone felt pretty good about. He's a guy that we got very attached to. He wants to learn. I like all the measurables that saw with him. What's most important is you just have to like him, and you have to have a vision for the player."

That vision involves Shockey. An AFC coach recently called Graham's selection "the best pick in the draft," according to NFL guru Peter King of SI.com.

"Give him time, and in that offense, he'll be better than Shockey by the start of next year," the coach said. "We also love the pick with David Thomas (Saints' veteran tight end) in a contract year. Graham is big and physical enough to develop into an adequate blocker. As a receiver, he's got more upside than any tight end drafted over the weekend."

Graham hopes to learn from Shockey. When the Saints were practicing for the Super Bowl last January at the University of Miami, Graham sought out his football idol.

"He was in the cold tub, and I walked up to him and introduced myself," Graham said. "He knew who I was, and he told me that he had been watching me all year and that he was very proud of me and what I had done. He just told me that if I keep working hard and stick with it that the sky is the ceiling. For me, that was incredible. He's a guy that I look up to in football, and he has done a lot. For him to say that about me meant everything."

Fast forward a few months later, and Shockey is Graham's teammate.

"I can't tell you how excited I am," Graham said. "Obviously, he's a Miami guy. But to watch him and learn from him what he knows about the game and to have him teach me every day, I can't express in words how excited I am."

Graham has the bold confidence that is classic Shockey.

"I was an explosive basketball player -- a shot blocker, an aggressive rebounder," Graham said. "The ability to go up and get rebounds and timing blocked shots and to move my feet and have touch around the basket while working on my hands -- that translates well to football. I have the ability to go get the ball, and my footwork is something that translates to football. I started playing football last year and was able to do a lot in the little bit of time that I had, and now I'm going to the next level. I'm just excited to take on the opportunities. I don't think it's going to take that long."



(thetowntalk.com)