Whites Creek’s Graham Goes from Cobra to Venom
Jaime Graham named Player of the Game in his debut
NASHVILLE- Former Whites Creek High School Cobra two sports star Jaime Graham is now a member of the newest professional team the Nashville Venom of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). Graham, who also starred at Vanderbilt in football, had a great debut intercepting two passes and had 58 yards in returns to help the Venom defeat the Columbus Lions 58-44. Graham, who hadn’t been on a football field in two years, made a swift transition to playing indoor. He was signed by the club on May 15.
“I felt great with only having about two weeks of practice,” said Graham. I had to allow my instincts to take over because I am still learning the odds and ends of playing indoors. Football is like riding a bike, it takes a minute and you get back in the groove but playing indoors is like riding a unicycle. Once I get used to the speed of the game I will find my rhythm.”
Jaime Graham
Quickly finding his rhythm is nothing new for Graham. At Whites Creek, he became the first freshman to start in varsity basketball. For his career he ended up with over 1500 points scored. He led his team to the state semifinals as a senior. In football he was a three year starter at quarterback, wide receiver, running back and defensive back. As a senior he earned All State honors. In December he won the prestigious William Hume Award for his accomplishments as a scholar athlete.
Graham comes from a family of athletes. His uncle Odell Bradley also starred in two sports at Whites Creek and led his Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) team to the NCAA tournament in basketball. Early in his life he dealt with the tragic death of his mother. He was raised by his grandmother Hattie Graham. Sports kept Graham on the right path. He eventually earned a scholarship to play football at Vanderbilt. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer star Shelton Quarles also took the path from Whites Creek to Vanderbilt.
“There were a lot of positive people around me that helped me along the way,” said Graham. “I thank God for my ability and my family. I am glad that I am still living the dream. Shelton set the standard for a lot of guys in the city. It was fun to get out there. The guys here welcomed me in. There is a special brotherhood. I played with Corry (Stewart) at Gra-Mar in youth football. The attitude here is a winning one. I appreciate the fans supporting me through the years.”
You will have at least two more chances to see Graham play this season for the Venom. Their next home game will be this Monday night at 7 p.m. against the Alabama Hammers. The Venom is the top team in their conference by two games so they have a chance to have a post-season home game. To follow the Venom and for ticket information you can go to www.nashvillevenom.com
Snake Bites:
- The Venom have 12 local players on their roster with four (Stanlee Bradley, Antioch, Derek Dickerson Hunters Lane, Ernest Ramsey Maplewood, Will Johnson Pearl-Cohn and Jaime Graham Whites Creek) being graduates of Metropolitan Nashville Public High Schools.
- Father Ryan standout Corry Stewart picked up his sixth interception of the season tying him for first in the PIFL.
- The Venom has hired Tennessee Tribune Metro Sports Writer Scott Wallace as their Media Consultant.
- You can catch the only weekly Venom radio show every week on WTNTribune Radio. The Venom Injection Show. This week’s guests are defensive back Jaime Graham and kicker Christian Reed.
Quan’s Kitchen
By JaQuan Johnson
There was a song made in 1979 by Ian Hunter titled “Cleveland Rocks”. This song became the de facto anthem for the City of Cleveland. The city has been dubbed The Mistake by the Lake because of its proximity to Lake Erie and its bad luck in sports. Now I believe more than ever that Cleveland truly does rock. Why you ask? Well, I will tell you. Last year Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team the Cleveland Indians, after missing the playoffs for the last six years, hired Terry Francona as their manager. By the end of the year the team finished second in its division which was good enough to host the American League Wild Card game. They lost the Wild Card game to the Tampa Bay Rays but this was a step in the right direction of turning the city sports luck in the right direction.
This spring, the Cleveland Browns made big strides in becoming relevant again in the National Football League. The first step was when they drafted one of the best cornerbacks in this year’s draft Justin Gilbert out of Oklahoma State. This is big because Cleveland already has one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, Joe Haden. To pair Haden with Gilbert could make an already solid Cleveland defense into a great one. The Browns then decided to trade back into the first round of the draft and drafted Johnny Manziel A.K.A., Johnny Football. Manziel had a great college career, becoming the first true freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. He then passed for more than 4,000 yards and 37 touchdowns while also rushing for 759 yards on the ground and another nine touchdowns his sophomore year. Within the first few hours of drafting Manziel, the Browns sold double the amount of season tickets sells as the previous year. When Manziel’s jersey became available in the Cleveland Browns merchandise store it sold out almost instantly.
Not to be outdone, another professional franchise on the banks of Lake Erie got some good news. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA draft lottery for the second straight year. Last year was a terrible season for the Cavs. They selected Anthony Bennett with the first pick and that hasn’t panned out so far as they missed the playoffs and fired their head coach after just one season. I believe this can be huge for the Cavs if they use the pick right. There are three players on the top of everybody’s draft board. – Joel Embiid of Kansas University, teammate Andrew Wiggins and Duke University’s Jabari Parker. If I had control of the pick, I would choose Parker. To me, Parker has every tool to become a great player. He can score the ball in multiple ways. He can defend and he is a high character player. If Cleveland keeps the pick and decides to pick Parker, Embiid or Wiggins, I wouldn’t second guess them in the least bit but they could also trade the pick for a veteran player like Kevin Love or Carmelo Anthony. This could help the Cleveland Cavaliers make the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James left to play for the Miami Heat. Really, there are unlimited options for the Cavs to choose from. So with the MLB team, the NFL team and the NBA team looking good on paper it really looks like the city of Cleveland Rocks again. Well, at least in sports they do.
JaQuan Johnson is a local chef who loves sports. He is a frequent contributor to the Tennessee Tribune and WTNTribune Radio.
Time is drawing near for the First Annual Scott C. Wallace All Star Weekend. Judge Rachel Bell and Pastor Sandy McClain of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church has signed up as celebrity coaches. To play go to www.wallaceallstarweekend.com.
Judge Rachel Bell
Pastor Sandy Mcclain
Don’t forget to catch The Benchpress sports show every Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. on wtntrib.com or by downloading the tune-in app on your smartphone or tablet and like WTNTribune Radio station.
