Ex-Vol, NFL running back Graham looking to revive CCS football
Graham, who coached in 10 bowl games as an assistant and played in four, was hired earlier this year to revive the school’s football program, gathering around 30 new recruits anxious to learn the game fundamentals from this former Vol standout.
“I had some people reach out to me last year about restarting the program,” he said. “The opportunity came up, and I prayed on it. I came out, checked it out and saw it as a great opportunity.”
A coach on the staff of 2013 national champion Florida State, Graham had recently coached briefly under Nick Saban at powerhouse Alabama, then as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University when he was approached about the CCS job.
“The mission (at CCS) is to ‘Inspire students to follow Jesus by equipping them to serve, lead and transform their world,’” he said. “That mission is in line with the core values I already had.
“First and foremost, I am a follower of Christ,” he added. “I work hard and care about the kids and what is best for them, and that is what is important to the leadership at CCS as well.”
“We knew of Jay and his great reputation, and his desire to influence young men for God’s kingdom,” CCS Lions athletic director Lincoln Thomas said. “We are very thankful he chose to come to CCS.”
In building the program, staff chose to target younger students. “We started at the middle school level,” Graham said. “We went from six to 15 initially, and now we have 30-some.”
The team practices most weekdays, and has played three opponents during this first practice-game season, including Lakeway Christian and Sweetwater, with plans to play a total of 10 match-ups this fall.
“They are working hard, and are getting better all the time,” Graham added during a practice session Thursday, Aug. 18.
He has three assistant coaches: Kevin Winslett, Gil Azambuja and Dustin Nickle.
“We are taking baby steps,” said Winslett, noting the team currently consists of mainly sixth- and seventh-graders, but also has a few from the school’s fifth grade.
