Former understudy Graham primed for starring role
AUSTIN — For the past two seasons, Ta’Quon Graham was an understudy.
His mentors were Poona Ford and Charles Omenihu — the past two Big 12 defensive linemen of the year — as well as Chris Nelson. Each provided their own unique brand of mentorship.
“With Poona, just his demeanor,” Graham said. “He made plays, got up, acted like he’d been there before. I learned silent leadership because he led with his actions, not his words.
“Chris Nelson’s the same way. He’s a guy who would take you to the side and coach you up in little areas here and there. And Charles is just someone I could ask what move would I work here and there, so they all had different aspects from them that I learned from.”
Now it’s time for the junior defensive end to take all those lessons and emerge as his own man on a defensive line that will feature three new starters.
“He’s primed to have a big year this year because of the way he’s been working in the weight room,” senior defensive end Malcolm Roach said. “Just being around all those guys like Charles and Chris Nelson to learn from, so it’s time for him to step up and start making some plays.”
Tom Herman touted Graham’s improvement at last year’s Big 12 Media Days. He spent most of that spring playing out of position at nose tackle because defensive ends Omenihu and Breckyn Hager were locked into starting roles.
“We thought it was good for a young guy to kind of get beat up a little bit inside,” Herman said last July. “Get muscled around a little bit from centers and guards, and then he can transition back out to the defensive end spot and be a little calloused up from having spent a spring inside. He did a really good job.”
That cross-training didn’t wield much in the way of statistical success or playing time. Graham appeared in all 14 games but couldn’t move up the depth chart, finishing the season with 12 tackles and two sacks, and he forced a fumble in the 28-21 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
But no one is in the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Temple product’s way heading into this season. And not that he’s ever been a slouch in the weight room, but he’s emerged as one of the team’s resident gym beasts, posting a 700-pound squat under the tutelage of strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight.
Graham said he hasn’t obsessed over numbers or personal records. But the results, which include a considerable drop in body fat percentage, have coaches excited about what he can do opposite Roach.
“I like the way that TQ is playing,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. “Yancy has done such a good job with him, making him stronger. I thought last year he played high, he peeked around, he wasn’t really technical because I don’t think he really trusted his strength. Now his strength numbers are — he’s probably one of the strongest guys that we have on our team.”
Graham has developed a strong rapport with Roach, the veteran leader of a defensive line that will be younger and more inexperienced with Omenihu, Nelson and Hager all gone.
The pair have been pushing each other at practice and keeping the intensity high as the start of the season inches closer.
“T’s been going to work every day, making me a better player, pushing me,” Roach said. “I know we’re trying to stay on the same level, go out there and perform well. He’s pushing me; I’m pushing him. It’s a great thing to see.
Graham’s time as an understudy is up. Now, with big things expected of Texas in 2019, he’s emerging as a player who could have a considerable impact for a defense Roach believes can be “special.”
“Coming into my junior year I expect of course to have a bigger role,” Graham said, “and do a lot more than I have in the past.”