Brandon Graham : All posts

Former Michigan athletes deal with NFL, NBA lockouts

Former Michigan basketball player Manny Harris said that, despite the lockout in the NBA, he’s not planning on playing overseas. The same can’t be said of his former Wolverines teammate DeShawn Sims.

After being named the NBA Development League Rookie of the Year last year with the Maine Red Claws, Sims is trying out for teams in Europe, according to Harris.

“He’s basically preparing to go overseas, so he’s got some teams he’s trying out for,” Sims said. “He’s like a brother to me, we talk almost every day.”

notebook: Brandon Graham expects to miss start of NFL season and more notes from Jalen Rose's golf outing

After spending several months confined to his home, former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham is finally healthy enough to play golf.

He just isn’t healthy enough to put on shoulder pads -- and said he will miss the beginning of the 2011 NFL season, should it start on time.

Former Michigan basketball star Jalen Rose raises $75,000 at Barton Hills golf event

Former Michigan basketball player Jalen Rose high fives his teammate, Ron Ruks of Birmingham, after Ruks sank a putt during the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy golf outing at the Barton Hills Country Club on Monday.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

Jalen Rose said he is trying to “break the mold” of what is expected from a public school — particularly a Detroit public school.

He got a good start Monday, when the first fundraiser for the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy -- his tuition-free charter school set to open in September on Detroit’s Northwest Side -- raised $75,000 during a celebrity-laden golf outing at Barton Hills Country Club.

Philly.com: Brandon Graham works hard to get right knee in shape for NFL season

Former Michigan football player Brandon Graham says he is rehabilitating his right knee five days a week after an injury ended his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Philly.com reports.

"I'm excited to see how I come back from this, but I know I'm going to come back good," said Graham, who the Eagles selected with the 13th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

AnnArbor.com captured Graham's workouts before the 2010 NFL combine. Check out the article and video.

today's college sports links: Steve Spurrier right to criticize Big Ten's reluctance to oversign?; College presidents to blame for seedy recruiting atmospheres and more

Here's how former Michigan football player Brandon Graham will handle an NFL lockout

Caption: University of Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham powers his way through two Wisconsin defenders during a game in November, 2009.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.

Graham, a former Michigan defensive end, shared his plans with Eagles blogger Chris McPherson.

big ten notebook: The necessity of Wisconsin's lopsided win, how Ryan Kerrigan compares to Brandon Graham, football at Wrigley Field and more

A lot of people across the country thought No. 6 Wisconsin ran up the score against Indiana in Saturday’s 83-20 game. Indiana coach Bill Lynch wasn’t among them.

“I didn’t have any problem,” he said Tuesday. “I think it’s our responsibility to stop them. We didn’t do a good job of that and we didn’t take care of the ball, and that’s on us.”

Case closed?

It’s not that simple. Because BCS rankings could play a part in determining which Big Ten team plays in the Rose Bowl should there be a tie atop the league standings, Wisconsin had reason to make the margin of victory as lopsided as possible.

Halfway through rookie season, Brandon Graham slowly adjusts to life in NFL

Halfway through his rookie NFL season, former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham said he has hit a “rookie wall.”

“Man, it’s like it’s just a continuous grind and you’ve got to get ready,” he said, laughing. “You wake up every morning and you’re like, man, I could lie in bed. You got to push through it.”

Is the 3-3-5 the source of Michigan's defensive woes? Brandon Graham thinks so

As the standout performer on the Michigan football team’s defense for several seasons, Brandon Graham says he knows the cure for the unit’s season-long troubles.

“They just need me around,” he laughed.

Amid the growing concern about the team’s beleaguered defense, on pace to allow a school-record 360 points this season, Graham voiced support for defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

But last year's first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles said the team’s new 3-3-5 defense is part of the problem.

MLive.com: Ex-Michigan football star Brandon Graham says Rich Rodriguez is 'not going anywhere'

Brandon Graham, the former Michigan defensive end and a first-round NFL Draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, says any talk about football coach Rich Rodriguez leaving Michigan is premature.

"I know he's going to be there, he's staying there, he's not going anywhere. I can see that already within the team,'' Graham said on a teleconference Wednesday. "I don't see Coach Rod leaving. They're taking it one game at a time and lot of people are going to have a different perspective when they talk about Michigan.''

Graham had one assist and two quaterback hurries in his first NFL game, a 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

philadelphiaeagles.com: Brandon Graham says he's ready for Philadelphia Eagles' training camp

Former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham is featured in a video on the Philadelphia Eagles website. In it, he says he's ready to put on the pads and start hitting.

today's college sports links: Brandon Graham meets President Obama, Eastern Michigan football ranks dead last and Les Miles against expansion

Michigan basketball player DeShawn Sims and football player Brandon Graham pose for a photo before the start of spring commencement at Michigan Stadium on Saturday morning.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

Participating in his first Eagles minicamp wasn't the only highlight of Brandon Graham's week. He also met President Obama during Saturday's graduation ceremony in Ann Arbor.

"I got to shake his hand," Graham told gcobb.com. "It was a real cool thing - my coach set it up (Rich Rodriguez). I was like, 'Please, I'm about to go. I just want to shake his hand,' and I shook his hand. It was real nice. He just said, 'Go Blue.'"

Graham describes his first impressions of life in the NFL in this video from Delaware County Times. Meanwhile, Brad Wilson of The Express-Times says Graham learned from adversity encountered at Michigan.

Here's the rest of today's college links:

Where Michigan's draft-eligible players ended up

Linebacker Brandon Graham, from the University of Michigan and the 13th pick overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL draft, holds up an Eagles jersey during a news conference in Philadelphia on Friday.

AP photo

Michigan had three players chosen in last week's NFL draft, defensive end Brandon Graham, punter Zoltan Mesko and safety Stevie Brown. Here's a roundup of where those three and the rest of the Wolverines' draft-eligible players are headed:

Brandon Graham: 'Glad Philadelphia thought I fit at No. 13'

Former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham was introduced Friday as the Philadelphia Eagles' newest first-round draft pick. Graham, who went 13th overall, toured the Eagles' facilities, met the coaching staff and answered questions for local reporters.

Here are some highlights of his press conference:

Updated: Brandon Graham surprised, excited the Eagles drafted him 13th overall

Next stop for Brandon Graham: Philadelphia. (File photo)

BIRMINGHAM - By 10 p.m. Thursday, about an hour after the Philadelphia Eagles made him the 13th pick of the NFL draft, Brandon Graham had 206 unopened text messages and a voice mailbox full of unanswered phone calls.

“I’ll get to them tomorrow,” Graham said in the lobby of the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, where he hosted a draft party for about 30 family members and friends. “Maybe.”

The Eagles traded up 11 spots in the first round, swapping two third-round picks and their own first-rounder with Denver, to make Graham the pass-rushing left end they’ll build their defense around.

Video: Brandon Graham talks about being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham with the 13th pick in Thursday's NFL draft. Graham took a few minutes out of his draft party to tell AnnArbor.com about the day, the pick and going to the Eagles.

toledo blade: Michigan football not producing much NFL talent

After Brandon Graham, Michigan football is an afterthought when it comes to tonight's NFL Draft.

That's what Ryan Autillo writes in today's Toledo Blade. And it's more than a one-year anomaly.

updated 1:40 p.m.: Your latest NFL Draft news, last-minute mocks and Brandon Graham news

The University of Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy, left, rings the closing bell at the Exchange, Wednesday, April 21, 2010 in New York. McCoy and the other players on the podium are in New York to participate in the 2010 NFL Draft, which gets underway on Thursday, April 22 at Radio City Music Hall. From left are McCoy; Ndamukong Suh, of Oklahoma; Demaryius Thomas, of Georgia Tech; Brandon Ghee from Wake Forest; and Bryan Bulaga from Iowa.

AP photo

Brandon Graham tells AnnArbor.com's Dave Birkett there's a chance he's a Top-10 pick in tonight's NFL Draft. At least one expert thinks Graham might be right.

Welcome to NFL Draft day. 

Or, as SI.com's Michael Rosenberg calls it, "the Super Bowl" in Detroit.

In these final hours before the St. Louis Rams are officially on the clock at 7:32 p.m., ET, there's plenty of speculation that the Pittsburgh Steelers are shopping Ben Roethlisberger for a Top-10 pick.

Here's a look at today's other draft news, including plenty of final-edition mock drafts:

Michigan's Brandon Graham hopes for early call in NFL draft

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Nothing against the friends and family he’s hosting for his NFL draft party tonight, but Brandon Graham doesn’t plan on entertaining until the wee hours of Friday morning.

“Hopefully,” Graham said Wednesday, “the party ends quick.”

NFL draft: At linebacker or defensive end, Brandon Graham should make an impact in NFL

Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham should be a top 20 pick in the draft, most analysts say. (File photo)

LaMarr Woodley spent most of his Michigan football career playing defensive end, but the Pittsburgh Steelers saw enough in him to turn him into an outside linebacker when they drafted him three years ago.

Twenty-nine sacks and one Pro Bowl later, the move looks like a stroke of genius.

Woodley said he expects his friend and former Michigan teammate Brandon Graham to follow the same career path in the NFL.

“He’s athletic enough he can do it,” Woodley said. “Playing defensive end sometimes for a long period of time, you haven’t taken the amount of reps to prepare for that position. I think he’ll adjust to it real well. Once he gets into camp and gets practice doing it, I think he’s going to be excellent at it. Plus, he’s got a lot of speed.”