Football Preview: Star rusher Graham hopes to return from severe knee injury soon

On a chilly Wednesday night last October, the entire Pitt football community anxiously looked on…

Pitt star running back Ray Graham is a game-time decision for Saturday’s opener against Youngstown State after tearing his ACL last October.

Luc Felak, For The Pitt News

On a chilly Wednesday night last October, the entire Pitt football community anxiously looked on as starting running back Ray Graham suffered a knee injury and was carried off the field in the opening drive of a game against Connecticut.

To the dismay of all Graham’s coaches, teammates and supporters, the diagnosis of a torn ACL meant it could be up to a year before the star rusher, who was leading the nation in yards at the time, could return to the field.

Now, nine months later, the Pitt football team has finished its training camp in preparation for the new season, and Graham, who is listed as a game-time decision to play in Saturday’s opener against Youngstown State, has joined his team back on the field, despite still being on the long road to recovery.

“The knee is good,” Graham said. “Physically, I am getting there. I don’t feel quite myself yet, but I’m feeling better each day in practice and gaining confidence every time I go out there.”

Graham’s slow but continual improvement characterizes much of the rehabilitation process he has undergone since having surgery last November. He has demonstrated a relatively speedy recovery, but taking his time and not rushing things were always his main focus.

“The rehab process was good,” the senior tailback said. “The main thing with trying to come back was just that coach [Paul Chryst] wanted to be smart about it. We wanted to take things slow, so we didn’t make any mistakes and risk me getting hurt again. Coach Chryst has helped me a lot with things.”

Patience has naturally been an important theme in Graham’s recovery process, and Chryst, Pitt’s newest head coach, has served as a constant reminder of that.

“I think it is about gaining confidence in what you can do and knowing what you can do. So if he can just keep moving forward, it will be very good,” Chryst said.

Chryst also added that while the coaching staff is excited for Graham to return, they won’t rush him back.

“The one thing we talked about is I would rather play him a day later than a day too soon,” the first-year head coach said. “We are a better team with him, but I want to make sure we are doing what’s right for him.”

Despite all of his improvements, Graham has also had some difficulty and frustration throughout his healing process.

“The biggest thing was [realizing] that everybody heals differently,” Graham said. “You have to go through a certain phase where you figure out what works for you and how your body has adjusted to being injured and then work toward balancing those things back out.”

Graham, who has worn a red no-contact jersey for much of Pitt’s training camp, says that remaining positive and trying to approach everything optimistically has helped him to learn a lot since injuring his knee.

“It’s all about your approach to things,” he said. “I had to look at the injury as a positive and see how I can use it to grow as a runner and how it can make me more versatile. There is more than one way to be a good running back, and I think this injury helped me to realize that.”

On the field, Graham not only feels smarter, but more versatile as well. For a rusher with his slick, quick-cut style of running, a major knee injury can be devastating. But Graham has used the opportunity to develop other aspects of his game, such as his strength, knowledge and leadership abilities, in hopes of making him even tougher to defend than before.

“I just started trying to get better at all aspects of the game and focused on being smart while I was running,” he said. “At first, that meant less sharp cuts and lateral movement, so I was forcing myself to get better in other ways, but I know I can get back to being the old Ray once my confidence gets back to being 100 percent.”

Being on the sidelines has also helped Graham become a better mentor. Freshman running back Rushel Shell, who is arguably the most talented member of Pitt’s freshman class, says he has already picked up a lot of lessons from Graham.

“You can learn a lot out of the running back spot from guys like Ray,” Shell said. “He and [sophomore running back] Isaac Bennett were telling me little things in practice that can separate the good from the great.”

Though it is not over yet, Graham’s healing process seems like it has been as successful as possible up until this point. Graham is excited about continuing to get better and eventually taking the field when the season starts.

He says the Panthers are gaining more and more confidence each day as they get ready to begin the season, and the running back has set a goal to return to the starting lineup for opening day against Youngstown State.

“We want to put on a show for the fans and give them a good season to look forward to,” he said.