Graham can't be deterred

It wasn't easy for Arkansas to get Derrick Graham out of Florida.

For a variety of reasons, with location a good starting point.

Graham grew up in Gainesville, where the University of Florida is located, and P.J. Graham, the outside linebacker's older brother and mentor, is a University Florida graduate.

Then throw in that one of Graham's lead recruiters was Randy Shannon, a former linebackers coach for the Hogs who was instrumental in convincing Graham to give Arkansas a chance, and the fact that Shannon left the Razorbacks to join Florida's staff about a month before signing date.

There also was a misstep in Graham's past, one that landed him in a detention center before starting high school, and the odds against him accepting a scholarship to play football in far-away Fayetteville increases even more.

But Graham's relationship with Coach Bret Bielema, defensive coordinator Robb Smith and Shannon, the man Graham thought would be his position coach, convinced him to commit to Arkansas on Nov. 4 of last year.

"The main thing I looked at was the level of confidence I had in the coaching staff that went beyond the sales pitch," Graham said.

Graham, who attended Wauchula (Fla.) Hardee, picked the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from Florida, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, South Florida and others.

"The coaching staff at Arkansas truly showed me their character spoke volumes," Graham said. "You look at Coach B and what he's been able to do from the trenches of Iowa to what he did when he was at the Big Ten and to what he's doing now at Arkansas. He surrounds himself with coaches that are high-character and moral individuals.

"That was one of the things I looked at."

Graham's commitment was tested when he heard about Shannon leaving Fayetteville to join the Coach Jim McElwain's staff at Florida.

"It was tough to take because that was one of the deciding factors of going to Arkansas," Graham said.

Smith, who was Graham's lead recruiter, calmed his nerves.

"We just relate," Graham said. "He's down for business and I'm down for business, and then we have a personal level."

It reassured Graham that Smith coached linebackers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before becoming Arkansas' defensive coordinator. That, along with Vernon Hargreaves being his position coach, kept Graham on the road to Arkansas.

"With him being at the next level as a linebackers coach, I still felt good to be in Coach Robb Smith's hands," Graham said. "I just stuck it out. ... I believe in Coach Hargreaves and Coach Robb Smith."

Graham's older brother grew up in Gainesville and received a a degree in political science from Florida while running track for the Gators, but he didn't try to change his brother's mind.

"When Derrick made the decision he was going to go to Arkansas, it was not my job to sway and change his mind," P.J. Graham said. "My job is to support him."

It wasn't the first time P.J. stuck up for his younger brother.

Derrick was born and raised in Gainesville, but he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and was arrested for withholding information on a breaking and entering case in the fall of his ninth-grade year.

A judge considered sentencing Graham to five years in prison and five years probation, but P.J. stepped in and helped convince the judge to let Derrick live with him.

"I spoke to his attorney and told him there's nothing a jail cell can do for Derrick that I can't do myself here at the house, which will give him the opportunity to excel," said P.J., who was living and working in Wauchula, about 160 miles south of Gainesville.

Graham said the turning point was a visit from his mother.

"It was a heartbreaking experience when my mom visited me while I was at the detention center," Graham said. "She was crying her eyes out and she was like, 'I want you to move in with your brother.' "

Graham began to change his ways after spending time with his mother after his release.

"Ever since then, God has been working miracles and he has blessed me," Graham said.

The move to Wauchula started a new path for Graham.

"Derrick came into my home and understood I was going to be a brother, a father, a mother and a friend," said P.J. Graham, a senior behaviorist at Florida Institute for Neurological Rehabilitation.

The new environment and structure paid off for the Graham in the classroom.

"We went from making straight D's and F's to straight and A's and B's because he understood I was going to push him," P.J. Graham said. ""I told him you're going to strive to be great."

Graham said he knew there was little negotiating with his no-nonsense brother.

"He's on me hard," Graham said. "There's no going back and forth with him. What he says goes."

P.J. said he and his brother hope others might learn from Derrick's journey.

"We're totally comfortable with discussing Derrick's past because of the fact we came to grips with what had happened," P.J. Graham said. " We're willing to talk about it because we're hoping it may give another young person that's going down the same path an opportunity to step back and look and say, 'Well, if he can make it, I can to.' "

Hardee Coach Buddy Martin said moving in with P.J. was the best thing for Graham.

"His brother wasn't afraid to take off of work and come up to the school, take off work to come to practice," Martin said. "He made it very clear to me: 'You call me, I'm coming.' "

Graham's growth as a person has aided him on the field, too.

"We're always looking for uncommon people," Smith said. "He's uncommon in his approach. He really wants to be successful."

Graham reported to Fayetteville in June at 6-4, 238 pounds. He weighed 255 at the start of fall camp while maintaining his 4.56-second speed in the 40-yard dash that he recorded at a Mississippi State camp.

He said it was difficult for people in Florida to understand his decision to be a Razorback.

"They were saying you could've gone to Florida, you could've gone to Florida," Graham said. "I was like, 'I'm going to Arkansas, and that's better than anything else out there. ' "

Graham said he got a taste of the statewide support the Razorbacks receive at a stop in Little Rock while driving back home after an unofficial visit last summer.

"I had some gym shorts with Arkansas on it and they were like, 'You play for the Arkansas Razorbacks?' " Graham said. "People would just stop and talk to you."

Once Graham committed to the Hogs he started recruiting prospects from Florida and elsewhere,and that continued after signing in February.

"I just feel like I should keep the name of Arkansas going in Florida," Graham said. "Now it's home for me, and I just have to tell everybody about it."

Sports on 08/08/2015