Prior Visit Familiarizes 2022 New Jersey Linebacker with Terps Following Offer
Maryland became the latest offer to 2022 Camden (NJ) linebacker Nyair Graham last week after connecting with cornerbacks coach Henry Baker. That conversation on July 19 was the first between the two, but Graham is familiar with the program as it was the lone school he visited last fall.
“I just went to one game in 2019 when they played Michigan and I saw the facility and everything,” Graham told All Terrapins. The chance for Graham to take in College Park gave him additional insight. “I like the colors, the stadium, it all stood out to me. It was my first homecoming game so it gave me something different, but that was the first college game that I attended so it was eye-opening just what I’ll be going to in a couple of years.”
Baker has delved into recruiting New Jersey since his early summer hire and Graham has been able to build on the early stages of their relationship.
“He told me how him and their linebacker coach loved my film and wanted to offer me a full ride,” the 6-foot-1, 195-pound linebacker said following the offer. “It went very good. I talked to him [on Wednesday], too. Him offering me, he told me how it was going to be. He didn’t sell me on any dreams or anything but he told me he and the linebacker coach were really excited to offer me. He told me some things that I never heard from other coaches. I just learned how with coaches, they’ll be different people sometimes after you get there so if I were to go there, that’ll be like he is if I were going there.”
New Jersey announced their plans to push back the start date of the fall season, giving Graham hope to build off a strong offseason into his junior campaign. Adding strength to his frame remained a top priority throughout his offseason training.
“I’m stronger coming out of quarantine because I knew I had to gain weight, so getting bigger way my goal. I want to show that I got more explosive and faster off the ball. I’m more conditioned, last year I wasn’t at my top gear but I feel a lot better now. I just know I have to get some more film in because I know we’ll only have four or five games; we may not even have a championship game. So everything that I’ve put in during quarantine, I just want to put it all together.
