D.J. Graham's goal? Do it again
It was like a strobe light effect for Oklahoma cornerback D.J. Graham. Following OU’s 23-16 win vs. Nebraska last Saturday, he put his Apple Watch back on and the thing wouldn’t stop lighting up.
He had truly done something special.
It was the interception that was the talk of the football world last weekend when Graham completed a ridiculous one-handed, twisting his body in the air, once-in-a-lifetime pick in the fourth quarter.
He saw quarterback Spencer Rattler’s reaction in person. He saw former OU basketball star Trae Young’s response on the sidelines.
And then Graham saw social media.
Graham said he saw his Instagram account blow up from 4,000 followers entering the weekend to more than 13,000 as of Wednesday and still climbing.
“Seeing Spencer’s reaction and Trae Young’s, was like, ‘Oh, wow, I kinda did something special.’ And for everybody to say this might be the greatest pick of all time, it was astounding,” Graham said. “I didn’t even think of it like that, which is crazy.”
Graham has had a pretty extensive history of one-handed catches being caught on video, which is sort of remarkable in its own right. You can go back to seventh grade or one in high school or at OU’s on-campus camp where he was offered or last month in preseason camp off Caleb Williams. And now last weekend.
He’s a pro at this, you could say. Now in the name, image, likeness era, why not have a little fun with it? Make a little extra cash?
It wasn’t his first thought, but that’s how the game is played nowadays.
“But the shirts, I tried to capitalize on that immediately,” Graham said. “I wasn’t really thinking about that really but my teammates were like, ‘Bro, you got to put that on a shirt,’ ‘When’s the merchandise dropping?’ I was like, ‘Oh, wow. OK, maybe I do need to kick this thing off.
“And the shirts, they’ve been going really well, the sales have been going well, which is a blessing. It kind of took me away by storm but it’s all kind of sinking in now.”
It wasn’t just college stars. Graham said getting reactions from former OU stars like Kenny Stills Adrian Peterson, Joe Mixon, CeeDee Lamb and Kenneth Murray meant a lot. And nothing can duplicate getting the shoutout from Odell Beckham Jr., who is sort of the godfather of the one-handed grab.
It can’t all be taught, but Graham did give some insight on how he has been able to have a lot of success in this department.
“It’s a God-given talent but I also think it’s a cognitive ability to track the… to really track the rotation of the ball,” Graham said. “That’s the whole point in catching is really tracking how the ball’s rotating and catching with your fingertips. I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong when the try to catch the ball. They try to catch the ball with their whole hands. It’s really your fingertips. But I think it’s a lot of practice.”
The obvious question is now what? You’ve gone viral for a week, where do you go from there? That’s actually a more pressing topic moving forward for Graham and the Sooners as Big 12 play begins vs. West Virginia on Saturday evening.
OU can’t have Graham be a one-play wonder. Graham doesn’t want to solely be remembered for the one play, no matter how spectacular it was.
It’s back to focusing on the task at hand and showing who he truly is as a cornerback.
“I think it’s a challenge but I think that’s what separates the good players from the great players is the ability to refocus,” Graham said. “Like OK, you made a good play, but can you do it again? I think I just got to show that vs. West Virginia. I think that’d be a testament to my game if I could respond.”
Going through the recruiting process, there was a lot of conversation about where Graham would fit in for OU’s 2020 class.
Most of his offers were at wide receiver. OU wanted Graham, but Lincoln Riley and staff had to let Graham know, though, it was going to be for defensive back.
Graham admitted during preseason camp the internal struggle he had to battle to get there. But yea, he’s firmly there and no looking back now in the secondary.
“It took some trust on his and his family’s part to help trust us and guide him that way,” Riley said. “Some it being evaluating his skill set and where he would best have a chance to play and succeed. Also looking at the team and where do you have a bigger opening to possibly getting on the field earlier in your career.
“Everything about it made sense as a DB. He was kind of halfway on, halfway off early. Not maliciously, I just think he was trying to convince himself that this was the right thing. As he got the hang of it, he got out there, he had some success. I think he’s fully convinced now. It’s been a good move for him the right move for him.”
The life of a defensive back is a life of having a short memory. Even in his finest moment, it came off a huge setback. Just four plays prior to the interception, Graham was beat down the sideline for a 55-yard gain.
He didn’t sulk, didn’t get down on himself. Coaches didn’t take him out of the game. It’s one play, now you move on.
“Matter of fact, my old coach, Ray Mickens, he always preached—you’ve got to have a short memory,” Graham said. “As a DB, you have to accept the fact that it’s football and the other dude on the side of the ball is as athletic or more athletic as you. Hey, he might be a better athlete. You have to accept that football is going to happen and they’re going to make plays.
“And lo and behold, Coach Grinch and Coach Manning, they preach the same exact thing. Once you accept the fact that they’re going to make plays, that kind of goes out the window and you’re just playing ball now.”
With the injury to Woodi Washington, Graham is almost guaranteed to see even more snaps than what he had during the initial three games.
Graham is hoping to do more spectacular things. OU coaches are hoping for more game-changing plays. But even Alex Grinch, who never gets too high after any particular play, was able to have fun with Graham’s moment.
“Yes, we teach that (joking)... That's one most humans don't make so I give him, again, all the credit that he deserves,” Grinch said.