Chris Graves has a bright future at the University of Miami
FORT MEYERS, Fla. — Chris Graves is a special talent. His talents have made him the fifth ranked athlete in the country for his contributions as a cornerback, wide receiver and on special teams. Being able to contribute on both sides of the ball isn鈥檛 the most uncommon thing at the high school level, but being great at both aspects and to be recruited as an undefined athlete is special.
Chris and the rest of his teammates for the Bishop Verot Vikings won their first game in the 2021 FHSAA Football State Championships 3A by a score of 39-0 against the Cardinal Mooney Cougars. The fourth seed Vikings will take on the first seed Berkeley Prep Buccaneers this coming Friday, and Graves will have yet another opportunity to show the University of Miami Hurricanes what they can expect out of him as a recruit.
The Miami Hurricanes were pleased to learn about Graves鈥� commitment in early July. They appreciate his abilities on the field, but also his youth and potential. Hurricanes insider Cameron J. Underwood , 鈥淥nly 16 years old at the time of his commitment, Graves is more than a year younger than most of his classmates. To already have shown the performance level that he has at such a young age should be very exciting for Canes fans. Graves is only beginning to scratch the surface of his immense potential at this time.
In terms of what the Hurricanes expect to get from Graves at the college level, Southeast recruiting analyst points out that Chris is working on a full-time transition to cornerback.
鈥淎 wide receiver that’s in the process of making the transition to cornerback. Still trying to figure things out on defense and master his coverage techniques, but checks off a lot of the right boxes with his long stride, ball skills and overall competitiveness. Runs with what looks like a bounce to his step. Shifty when it comes to changing directions. Appears to be the most comfortable working closer to the line of scrimmage where he is able to put his hands on wide receivers and get them off schedule. Understands how to mirror with his hips and has the foot speed to recover from some of his mistakes.鈥�
Andrew Ivins also credits Graves as having massive potential that matches up well with former prospects. 鈥淚 went with current Carolina Panthers cornerback and former FIU star Stantley Thomas-Oliver, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Drafted,鈥� . 鈥淗e too is not only from Southwest Florida, but had a very similar profile to Graves coming out of high school as he played a ton of offense.鈥�
Talent and potential aside, the four-star athlete will be focused on the Berkeley Prep Buccaneers. This next playoff game will be another opportunity for him and his teammates to excel at all three facets of the game.
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