He grew up a KU basketball fan, but this football player never thought he’d be a Jayhawk
Former Utah State and Oklahoma cornerback D.J. Graham II grew up a big KU basketball fan.
His favorite player was former Jayhawks hoops star Devonte’ Graham (a KU football official could not confirm if there was any relation). Another past Kansas standout, Keith Langford, is a family friend of the D.J. Graham household.
Now D.J. Graham is a Jayhawk himself, something he never expected when he began his college football career with the Sooners in 2020.
“You could tell (KU) is just completely different,” he said. “I never thought in a million years I would be at Kansas University for football. Just to see that is incredible.”
The lifelong Jayhawks fan is excited to be one of 15,300 fans seated inside Allen Fieldhouse for KU basketball games next season.
“I am excited to finally step into the Fieldhouse and really see one of best atmospheres in the country,” he told The Star.
Graham arrives in Lawrence with big shoes to fill in after the departure of the All-Big 12 cornerback duo of Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson.
“It was one of the (few) times in NCAA history where you had two All-American corners, which is super rare,” he said. “Obviously, they are super talented, but a lot of that has to do with coaching also. That’s something that definitely made (me) gravitate toward Kansas.”
Graham brings size — he’s 6-foot — and plenty of experience to next season’s young group of KU cornerbacks. He’s logged more than 1,600 snaps in his college career.
And that career has been eventful. He played in eight games his freshman year (2020). The following season, he started 10 of 12. He had 36 total tackles, one forced fumble and one interception in 2021.
His new KU teammates still talk about that interception to this day. In September, OU faced Nebraska. The Sooners were up two touchdowns, but the Cornhuskers were marching down the field, poised to score.
That is … until Graham did something extraordinary. He leapt backward and snagged a one-handed interception, almost “Mossing” the Nebraska wide receiver.
“I couldn’t hear anything,” Graham said of that moment. “Everything went in slow motion. It was kind of just, ‘See ball, get ball.’
“It didn’t really hit until I got up. You hear the crowd noise. I just remember seeing this specific dude. He stared at me, pointed at me — I’m just like, ‘Yeah, you know.’”
Graham switched to wide receiver when OU hired head coach Brett Venables to replace Lincoln Riley, who’d left for the USC job before the 2022 season.
That experience didn’t last long. Graham would miss the entire 2023 season with an injury.
He transferred to Utah State and bounced back in the Mountain West, ending the season with 44 total tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
Now, with one last season of college eligibility remaining, he’s already made quite an impression during his short time in Lawrence.
“He has good football IQ and he’s played a lot of snaps, and you’ll see that when he plays,” KU defensive backs coach Brandon Shelby said. “He takes coaching well. ...
“A lot of times, when you’re a guy who comes in from the portal, it takes you a while to learn the room, see: Where can I fit in? … But as they get around our family, they start to see that they’re a great fit for us.”
Graham has NFL aspirations, too. He said he tries to model his game after another guy of larger stature who plays the same position: 6-foot-2 shutdown NFL corner Patrick Surtain II.
“He’s a monster,” Graham said. “He’s a technician. To be that big and the way he moves, I kind of look up to that. … I try to (model) my game after him.”
