After being drafted by Buffalo in 2012 and spending two seasons and the 2014 training camp with the Bills, TJ Graham discovered it wasn't going to be an easy journey to eventually stay in the AFC East by joining the Jets.
"I remember talking to my parents and being like, 'Hey, made the team.' And then within like an hour or so after the deadline, I got a phone call, 'Hey, come on over.' They ended up releasing me, and I end up getting claimed off waivers by the Titans," Graham said.
"So I went to Nashville and tried to learn a new system, and the Titans were not very good. Injuries were killing them. I was the lowest man on the totem pole. So anytime somebody got hurt, they had to make a decision. I just happened to be the decision they made to accommodate the injury and found myself out of a job, but also a really good football player still.
"I did a number of tryout workouts after that and when I got to try out for the Jets, I remember running my 40, and I guess my speed was definitely one of the key factors in my play. Rex Ryan was like, 'Yep, that's all I need. Y'all got this.' And he just walked. He left.
"And I remember (special teams) Coach Thomas McGaughey said, 'We just want to see you catch some punts.' So I went and caught some punts and did the little waiting game, and then I realized that I was staying in New Jersey. I was going to play."
A special teams standout at North Carolina State, Graham was used primarily as a wide receiver in the NFL. However, in his first game as a Jet – Week 5 in San Diego – he'd have to make an unexpected withdrawal from his college memory bank.
"I had just gotten there that week and I had a few gadget plays that didn't work out," Graham said. "But one of the defensive backs on the (special teams) depth chart actually went down and I was on the depth chart as a number two, but nowhere close to understanding that I would have to go in the game.
"He went down, and it opened up four spots for me to go into – kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return. So I became a gunner on punt. I became a jammer on punt return. I became a cover guy, the backside, on kickoff. And I became a front-line block on kick return. My role completely switched from primarily being a No. 2, 3, or 4 receiver to being maybe the No. 4, 5, or 6 receiver and having a significant role on special teams."
Once Graham was able to spend more time with his new teammates than from sitting on a plane for cross-country flights to Southern California and back, he found that despite wins being hard to come by, he was part of a special team.
"That team was filled with some significant veteran players that I had watched over time. We had Chris Johnson on that team, Chris Ivory on that team, Michael Vick was on that team," Graham said. "Michael Vick was my locker neighbor, so I got to talk to him every single day.
"So could you imagine, growing up being a huge college football fan and being in ACC country but also being in very close proximity to (Vick's alma mater) Virginia Tech, and then getting a chance to play with one of the greatest football players to ever play…
"We even signed Percy Harvin later in the year. So I'm like, 'Dude, there's a who's who around here of really good talent.' I wish we had won out and done better, but it was just cool to see and be around."
The locker room neighbors also connected on the practice field during the season when Vick was the backup to Geno Smith and Graham was getting second-team reps at receiver. That carried over to New York's Week 10 game against Pittsburgh when they connected on a 67-yard touchdown play in the 20-13 victory.
"Going into the game, I may have had a slight chip on my shoulder. I was a little irritated that week," Graham said. "Can't remember why, but that week I was on one in terms of focus and execution because I was really ready to put my best foot forward. And it all lined up with him being in the quarterback position, just based off the stability and our connection and our relationship.
"Getting the play call, as soon as you heard the formation, I already know we're dialing it up. 'Let it fly. I'm going to outrun everybody.' And he threw it perfectly. It was one of those where you just make the catch and get in the end zone. MetLife went crazy.
"I'm going to say that game (is one of my fondest memories as a Jet) only because the Steelers that year were on a hot streak. They came to MetLife, and it was almost like, 'Okay, (all we've got to do is) show up today. And we beat them. I have the commemorative balls somewhere.
"As much as I had the touchdown, I had a significant role on special teams because I influenced the punt return at gunner and forced Antonio Brown to fumble the ball and I recovered it. And then there was another situation on a kickoff. The kick-return team for the Steelers fumbled, and I just happened to be close to the return and got the recovery. So that game actually was probably the most significant game in my mind, just because of how much influence my gameplay had on the outcome."
Spending one season with the Jets, Graham went on to join the New Orleans, Philadelphia, Carolina, and Montreal (CFL) organizations before transitioning away from playing the game and co-founding Breakaway Data, a sports performance data company.
"I was the resident data interpreter and would use that in my coaching philosophy and my training, as well," Graham said. "I used a lot of data, a lot of technology, a lot of videos to assess stuff, and found myself very close to coaching football. To the point where I was being asked to coach peewee teams, high school teams, and then I started dabbling in college. NC State allowed me to sit in their meetings and practices for a whole summer into the season. I was volunteering my time when I could, looking for a position."
After assisting at the East-West Shrine Game, Graham joined the Green Bay Packers as part of the Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He later turned down an offer to be their assistant director of player engagement, instead joining the Duke Sports Science Institute as lead trainer and director of sports performance analytics.
From there, following his time as the head coach at St. David's School in Raleigh, NC, last year, Graham decided to remain in the area with his wife, Tyler, and their sons, Ian and Trace. He is now the head coach, program head, and assistant athletic director at Ravenscroft School.
"To be honest, I'm in a situation here because this school is historically one of the top programs in our whole state, just hasn't really been there for a while," Graham said. "But the unique space here is we can recruit because we're a private school. And because we're a private school, it's really a matter of relationships and how you present yourself and what your name means in the community to these other people looking for an opportunity to, one, go to a really good school, but also, two, to participate in sports. Football in this matter.
"I like to say I use football or sport as a microcosm of life. The lessons we learn in sport are applied and applicable to life, but I want them to learn to be better humans, better adults from it. You can use sport to kind of give them that learned lesson of how to work through stressful situations or creatively problem solve. Kind of pick yourself up and continue and have that unwavering confidence about you that applies to life.
"Like nothing's worse than training camp. This is not as bad as when I got hit really hard and had to get back up. Nothing's harder than blah, blah, blah. So I want the kids to understand that football is not life, but it gives you life lessons if you really put your mind to it."
