This is a great story. Dan Graff runs a 4.36 40 yd time, but is still a bit slight because he had focused on track instead of football. He wears number 33, and can be seen flying in on kickoff coverage. Here's the story:
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http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/featured/29985224.htm l?index=27&c=y
Who's that guy?
Special teams played a big role against Mississippi State and LSU sophomore Dan Graff was in the middle of things on several occasions.
That meant fans and media had to ask a few times who the heck he was.
A walk-on cornerback, Graff recorded a pair of tackles on the kickoff team against the Bulldogs and now has six special-teams stops this season.
"He worked hard and played very, very well against our offense when he's played scout team defense and then really pursued the field as a scout team specialist," Miles said. "Everything that we've asked him to do, he did better than we thought he could do it and that's why he's a starter on our kickoff team. He's got great speed, he's tough and he's very athletic."
Speed was Graff's inspiration to walk on last year and he is apparently getting faster with age. He ran a 10.49 in the 100 meters as a senior at Archbishop Rummel and his 4.36 time in the 40 in the preseason was the second fastest among the Tigers present.
Demetrius Byrd ran the fasters 40, and Trindon Holliday was not clocked with the rest of the team.
"I came out here and knew I was pretty fast, but I didn't know it would get me on the field that quickly," Graff said.
Graff grew up in the same Metairie neighborhood as former LSU All-American Craig Steltz.
Not surprisingly, 'Little Steltz' is one of the nicknames Graff has earned from teammates, along with 'Tres-Tres' (33) and Ginger, a tribute to his red hair.
So far he has avoided a nickname attached to most walk-ons.
"I don't want to be called Rudy," he said with a grin. "Great movie, but I tend to think I'm a little bit better than Rudy was."
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Here is another article:
http://www.nola.com/lsu/t-p/football/index.ssf?/base/sports- 2/1230490958263990.xml&coll=1
GIGANTIC FEAT
Despite odds, ex-Rummel CB Dan Graff a hit at LSU
Sunday, December 28, 2008
By Jim Kleinpeter
ATLANTA, GA. -- At first, Rummel Coach Jay Roth couldn't believe his ears.
Now he can't believe his eyes.
Former Rummel cornerback Dan Graff, two years out of football, asked for help walking on at LSU in early 2007.
Now every time Graff, diminutive in stature, hurtles downfield at breakneck speed to bust up the wedge or make a tackle on LSU's kickoff team, Roth sees a different kind of athlete.
"I asked him, 'Are you sure you want LSU? You could end up holding (blocking) dummies,' " Roth said of his meeting with Graff. "His attitude was, 'I think I can play.' "
Graff thought right, even if everyone else thought otherwise. Blessed with blazing speed and a strong work ethic, he won a spot as a walk-on last season and moved into a starting job on the kickoff and punt return teams this season.
He will line up for his part-time duty Wednesday when the Tigers take on Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
"I love it," Graff said of his kamikaze-type role. "Some people don't like it, but it doesn't hurt me at all. The wedge doesn't intimidate me. I don't want to look like I got blown up in front of 90,000 people. You might as well hit them as hard as you can."
Graff has nine tackles in kickoff coverage for LSU, a modest number. But it's where he came from and the path he traveled that makes his accomplishment amazing. It's much less straight than the 50-yard sprint he executes on kickoffs.
He was a 5-foot-10, 155-pound one-year starter at Rummel, who went to Louisiana-Lafayette on a track scholarship. Hurricane Katrina intervened, sending him back home after a week at ULL. He spent the next year helping to rebuild the family home heavily damaged by a fallen tree, and the next at UNO.
Graff then got the itch to play football again.
As unlikely as his chances seemed, he wouldn't settle for anything less than LSU.
"He wasn't breaking up wedges at Rummel," Roth said. "He was a cover corner. He's got a different attitude now. He's not the same athlete I remember physically. I'm very proud of him."
During his year at UNO, Graff decided to take a shot at football, the sport his father, Dave, said was his "first love." He began working out with weights and running with his brother, Mitch. He bought a training parachute to improve his speed, and soon he was faster than his brother.
Graff now is the third-fastest LSU player (4.36 in the 40-yard dash) behind Trindon Holliday and Demetrius Byrd. He forged a new physical presence, growing to 6 feet and 171 pounds.
There were academic matters he had to attend to, so he took nine credits at Baton Rouge Community College in the summer of 2007. He continued to train even while waiting to see if he was accepted at LSU. Through three semesters, Graff's grade point average is better than 3.0, according to his father.
"He set goals I thought would be hard to keep," Dave Graff said. "I'm amazed at his dedication. I can't be any prouder of him. He never gives you half of what he has; he gives it all every time."
Graff worked the scout team last year, though he did win a spot on the punt-block group, which never was used. At the start of camp in August, his name was on the starting kickoff team and punt return lineups.
"At first I didn't believe it," Graff said. "I got there late. Everyone was telling me congratulations and I was like, 'oh yeah whatever.'
"It wasn't promised. I definitely had to earn it and keep it."
Graff said he distinctly remembers his first play as a Tiger when LSU kicked off to Appalachian State in the season opener.
"It was very surreal," he said. "I had never been on the field before when the stadium was packed. I'd always been in the sidelines looking around. To look both ways and see fans all around was pretty awesome. I got pretty jacked."
Although Graff's speed first caught LSU Coach Les Miles' eye, he since has found a player with the total package of intangibles.
"Unbelievable," Miles said of Graff's efforts. "He's done everything we've asked him to do and done it better. He's a joy. He's a hardworking, very talented man who gives it up for his team every snap."
Edited by: Deus Vult
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http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/featured/29985224.htm l?index=27&c=y
Who's that guy?
Special teams played a big role against Mississippi State and LSU sophomore Dan Graff was in the middle of things on several occasions.
That meant fans and media had to ask a few times who the heck he was.
A walk-on cornerback, Graff recorded a pair of tackles on the kickoff team against the Bulldogs and now has six special-teams stops this season.
"He worked hard and played very, very well against our offense when he's played scout team defense and then really pursued the field as a scout team specialist," Miles said. "Everything that we've asked him to do, he did better than we thought he could do it and that's why he's a starter on our kickoff team. He's got great speed, he's tough and he's very athletic."
Speed was Graff's inspiration to walk on last year and he is apparently getting faster with age. He ran a 10.49 in the 100 meters as a senior at Archbishop Rummel and his 4.36 time in the 40 in the preseason was the second fastest among the Tigers present.
Demetrius Byrd ran the fasters 40, and Trindon Holliday was not clocked with the rest of the team.
"I came out here and knew I was pretty fast, but I didn't know it would get me on the field that quickly," Graff said.
Graff grew up in the same Metairie neighborhood as former LSU All-American Craig Steltz.
Not surprisingly, 'Little Steltz' is one of the nicknames Graff has earned from teammates, along with 'Tres-Tres' (33) and Ginger, a tribute to his red hair.
So far he has avoided a nickname attached to most walk-ons.
"I don't want to be called Rudy," he said with a grin. "Great movie, but I tend to think I'm a little bit better than Rudy was."
*****************
Here is another article:
http://www.nola.com/lsu/t-p/football/index.ssf?/base/sports- 2/1230490958263990.xml&coll=1
GIGANTIC FEAT
Despite odds, ex-Rummel CB Dan Graff a hit at LSU
Sunday, December 28, 2008
By Jim Kleinpeter
ATLANTA, GA. -- At first, Rummel Coach Jay Roth couldn't believe his ears.
Now he can't believe his eyes.
Former Rummel cornerback Dan Graff, two years out of football, asked for help walking on at LSU in early 2007.
Now every time Graff, diminutive in stature, hurtles downfield at breakneck speed to bust up the wedge or make a tackle on LSU's kickoff team, Roth sees a different kind of athlete.
"I asked him, 'Are you sure you want LSU? You could end up holding (blocking) dummies,' " Roth said of his meeting with Graff. "His attitude was, 'I think I can play.' "
Graff thought right, even if everyone else thought otherwise. Blessed with blazing speed and a strong work ethic, he won a spot as a walk-on last season and moved into a starting job on the kickoff and punt return teams this season.
He will line up for his part-time duty Wednesday when the Tigers take on Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
"I love it," Graff said of his kamikaze-type role. "Some people don't like it, but it doesn't hurt me at all. The wedge doesn't intimidate me. I don't want to look like I got blown up in front of 90,000 people. You might as well hit them as hard as you can."
Graff has nine tackles in kickoff coverage for LSU, a modest number. But it's where he came from and the path he traveled that makes his accomplishment amazing. It's much less straight than the 50-yard sprint he executes on kickoffs.
He was a 5-foot-10, 155-pound one-year starter at Rummel, who went to Louisiana-Lafayette on a track scholarship. Hurricane Katrina intervened, sending him back home after a week at ULL. He spent the next year helping to rebuild the family home heavily damaged by a fallen tree, and the next at UNO.
Graff then got the itch to play football again.
As unlikely as his chances seemed, he wouldn't settle for anything less than LSU.
"He wasn't breaking up wedges at Rummel," Roth said. "He was a cover corner. He's got a different attitude now. He's not the same athlete I remember physically. I'm very proud of him."
During his year at UNO, Graff decided to take a shot at football, the sport his father, Dave, said was his "first love." He began working out with weights and running with his brother, Mitch. He bought a training parachute to improve his speed, and soon he was faster than his brother.
Graff now is the third-fastest LSU player (4.36 in the 40-yard dash) behind Trindon Holliday and Demetrius Byrd. He forged a new physical presence, growing to 6 feet and 171 pounds.
There were academic matters he had to attend to, so he took nine credits at Baton Rouge Community College in the summer of 2007. He continued to train even while waiting to see if he was accepted at LSU. Through three semesters, Graff's grade point average is better than 3.0, according to his father.
"He set goals I thought would be hard to keep," Dave Graff said. "I'm amazed at his dedication. I can't be any prouder of him. He never gives you half of what he has; he gives it all every time."
Graff worked the scout team last year, though he did win a spot on the punt-block group, which never was used. At the start of camp in August, his name was on the starting kickoff team and punt return lineups.
"At first I didn't believe it," Graff said. "I got there late. Everyone was telling me congratulations and I was like, 'oh yeah whatever.'
"It wasn't promised. I definitely had to earn it and keep it."
Graff said he distinctly remembers his first play as a Tiger when LSU kicked off to Appalachian State in the season opener.
"It was very surreal," he said. "I had never been on the field before when the stadium was packed. I'd always been in the sidelines looking around. To look both ways and see fans all around was pretty awesome. I got pretty jacked."
Although Graff's speed first caught LSU Coach Les Miles' eye, he since has found a player with the total package of intangibles.
"Unbelievable," Miles said of Graff's efforts. "He's done everything we've asked him to do and done it better. He's a joy. He's a hardworking, very talented man who gives it up for his team every snap."
Edited by: Deus Vult
