Some NFL scouts drooling over former Hurricanes hoopster Graham as a tight end candidate

ORLANDO, FLA. — The draft is a spectacular process, in part because of what happens to some of the people in it.

A year ago, for example, Jimmy Graham was a basketball player at the University of Miami who had used up his eligibility on the hardwood but still had a scholarship season to do something with since he had played for the Hurricanes' hoops team as a true freshman.

So, Graham, at 6-feet-6-1/4, 260 pounds, played one year at tight end for Miami's football team. He finished with 17 catches and five receiving touchdowns this past season.

Those numbers, with some guys, wouldn't really draw even a second look. But for teams who like their tight ends big — as the Broncos do — Graham is getting a lot of study because of all he brings. This is a player with enough athleticism to be one of just five players in Hurricanes history to finish his hoops career with at least 100 blocked shots.

Against North Carolina during the 2008-09 season, he had 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. That's not a guy who's shy in traffic, and he has the kind of hand-eye coordination and ball skills that could translate to an effective player in the scoring zone for a football team willing to help him learn on the job.

He's smart — he's already earned a degree in a double major (marketing and management) — and had a 38-1/2-inch vertical jump at the scouting combine and ran a 4.57 (hand-timed) 40-yard dash.

That's matchup potential, because there isn't a safety or linebacker in the league who would be all that excited about running down the hash against a 6-6 player who runs well.

And, more important, Graham wants to play football. He turned down what he described as a "six-figure" contract to play basketball in Europe to give football a chance this past season with the Hurricanes despite the fact the last time he had played the game was as a high school freshman.

Leading up to the scouting combine, he worked with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and some other high-profile draft prospects at a training facility in Nashville, Tenn., and earned some rave reviews.

And in a league that has seen Antonio Gates (who didn't play college football) and Tony Gonzalez (a two-sport star at Cal) catch so many passes for so many yards as NFL tight ends, Graham looks to have the best crossover potential in quite some time.



(denverpost.com)