First visit to campus was enough for RB Mekhi Graham's pledge to Maryland

Ahmed Ghafir
1 hour ago
2 min read

Spring ball has marked the chance for several top targets to make their way back to campus as head coach Mike Locksley and his staff make their moves through the 2027 class, but it also gives some prospects their first glimpse into the program. For Owen Roberts (PA) three-star Mekhi Graham, Thursday marked exactly that.

The 5-foot-11 running back picked up an offer back in mid-January with assistant James Thomas making his way through his school, building on a relationship that began during his sophomore season with Maryland pushing for Graham’s teammate, four-star Matthew Gregory. The foundation of Graham’s relationship with Thomas led to him building a connection with the rest of the staff with defensive analyst Luke Butera and running backs coach Andre Powell both becoming familiar faces in the pursuit. That set the stage for Graham to become impressed enough with his first impression of campus to pull the trigger on his commitment, picking Maryland with verbal offers from Penn State, Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia and Boston College.

“I loved it. Coach Powell is very old school and I love the way he coaches, the way he made me feel like a priority. I was the only running back there that day so that already put it over the top for me,” Graham said. “They said I run the ball great, I run with power and speed, but they also said they love how I can catch out of the backfield.”

Graham spent the full day on campus where he took in running back meetings led by Powell before watching new offensive coordinator Clint Trickett put the pieces together for the new-look offense. Practice gave the Pennsylvania native a closer look at the offense and how the program operates, enough to finalize his decision with his coach joining him on the visit.

“After practice, I had a meeting with coach Locks and told him let’s make it official. Him, coach James Thomas, coach Powell, they were all happy to hear it.”

Graham plans to return to College Park with his mom in two weeks while his official visit to Maryland is set for the weekend of June 12.

“A big thing for me was relationships and I had a relationship with the whole staff. Everyone made me feel at home and they welcomed me with open arms so it was perfect.”

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