Hopeful for football in the Fall
Former Hawk anticipates the start to his journey at the next level.
For his 4 years at Gila Ridge High School, Devin Graham has experienced a lot as a Hawks football player.
He moved up through the ranks on the varsity roster under 3 different head coaching regimes.
His freshman year, he began learning the varsity game at the end of Tyler Kosel's era.
The following 2 seasons, he came into his own when the program started turning around under the watch of Corey Semler.
This would set up his memorable senior campaign under John Ellegood, where the Hawks made history in a number of ways.
They would go unbeaten until their heart-breaking overtime rivalry game loss to cross-town rival Cibola in overtime.
But, 2 road playoff upset wins would propel the Hawks deep into the playoffs, before their tough loss in the 4A State Semifinal game.
As the star offensive and defensive lineman, Graham's play was critical in all of this success.
He was 2nd on the Gila Ridge roster in tackles on defense, while he led the team's offensive line in pancake blocks with 23.
His efforts earned him a football scholarship with Western New Mexico University.
But, when he begins that journey is now up in the air.
The Coronavirus Pandemic still has the local sports landscape at a standstill after 3 months, with social distancing and mask wearing mandates in place.
In the meantime, Graham continues to train individually to get his body ready for the rigors of Division 2 College football.
Knowing that his chance to play is uncertain as to when it will begin, he's choosing to take a thankful tone and be prepared to play, even if it means following extra safety guidelines.
"I'm very appreciative. I'm very fortunate that I got the chance to even play at the next level and I just hope that everything goes well, so that I may get the chance to actually play. I'm comfortable as long as I have my mask and I know that I'm in a safe environment. People around me are safe too, not just me, people around me are safe too, not just me, people around me are taking the right precautions. I'm not really scared of getting it. Because everyone has a mask and it lowers the chance of getting it. As long as everyone has a face mask, I should be safe."
