Graham: Missed Time Was Purely Business
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As you may have been reading in a few of our recent posts, our very own Ryan Messick is attending the Eagles training camp and reporting back with everything you need to stay up to date. Today Ryan had the opportunity to attend to a Q&A session with recently signed 1st round draft pick Brandon Graham.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the draft pick signings, Graham was signed late last night and arrived in Philadelphia early Friday morning. He was one of the early few 1st round draft picks to sign their contracts and get to camp, only missing the rookie and selected veteran days of camp. A lot of this can be credited to Graham’s dedication and commitment to getting to camp on time and not missing any of the significant parts of camp. Graham also gave kudos to his agent for getting the deal done on time.
"… my agent did a great job, he was coaching me through the whole thing and he was just letting me know “I’ll have you there on time”… he was right on time with it."
There have been some who have criticized the Eagles for selected Graham in the 1st round. He’s been using this as motivation and today he made it clear that he wanted to get to camp on time to turn the haters into believers. It was evident that he wants to prove his worth and earn his pay check.
"“I just wanted to get there because I wanted to show Coach Reid, Mr. Banner and Mr. Lurie that they didn’t waste a pick.”"
Although he didn’t get to camp until today, Graham hasn’t been completely out of the loop when it comes to training camp. He has been in contact with other Eagles, especially fellow rookie defensive end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim. His advice for Graham was to make sure you’re in shape, because they’re getting worked hard out there.
Graham made it clear that he wasn’t holding out because of an big ego or anything like that, but it was purely business. And although we didn’t really enjoy the drama of wondering when he would be signed, it speaks a lot about Graham’s character when we see that he really wanted to make sure he didn’t miss much time. He’s been making sure his team mates know this and they seem excited that he’s at camp.
"” I talked to players every day just to let them know I wish I was there, you know? Let them know I’m not being selfish, it’s just the business side of it. “"
Graham said he was a bit bigger in the stomach region than he would like to be, saying his old Michigan team mates nicknamed him “Fatboy”. He said he let Coach Reid know that he will be addressing those problems, and I’m sure Andy has a lot of sympathy for guys who have big ol’ guts.
All in all, it’s clear that this kid wants to be and camp, wants to learn, and to earn his starting spot over Juqua Parker. Now we just have to wait to see what he can do with the pads on.
Training Camp Coverage
Visit InsideTheIggles.com for exclusive training camp coverage, including practice recaps and scouting reports from the Lehigh Valley. ITI’s Ryan Messick will be reporting from Training Camp throughout the day on July 31st, August 1st and August 5th through 8th. Check back often for updates, and follow along on Twitter at www.twitter.com/InsidetheIggles or www.twitter.com/Ryan_Messick.