John Graves Scouting Report

Defensive tackle John Graves has rarely put up big numbers, but the big man in the middle of the defense has made a huge impact for the Virginia Tech defense. He usually will not get the sack, but Graves is the player who will force the pocket to collapse and allow his teammates to make plays. Even in limited playing time as a redshirt freshman, Graves tallied an impressive ten quarterback hurries. On the year he only totaled 11 tackles. Graves stepped into a starting role as a sophomore, which is quite impressive on what was an experienced Virginia Tech defense. Again it was Graves who was setting up big plays from his teammates, although he did start to develop as a run stuffer and garnered 26 tackles on the season. One thing that does show up on the stat sheet is Graves' three blocked kicks.

The 2009 season did not go as well, mostly due to a nagging ankle injury. Graves played in 13 games, but he was really only at full strength during the bowl game. It was during the bowl game against Tennessee that Graves recorded the first sack of his career. Fully healthy in 2010, Graves was back to his old ways for his senior season. Through 13 games, he has a career high 35 tackles and 16 quarterback hurries.

At 6-3 and 278 pounds, Graves will not be the biggest tackle in this class. In fact, he has moved between tackle and end at Virginia Tech and could face a similar dilemma at the next level. He is relatively quick, but not strong enough to beat most tackles and play at the end spot. Unfortunately Graves is a classic tweener and that will drop him down to a late round selection.