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Land O'Lakes weapon resides on 'D'

Versatile Lannie Graham has had his hands on the ball plenty on defense, if not on offense.

By STEVE LEE
Published October 7, 2005

LAND O'LAKES - Lannie Graham is rarely called upon as a ballcarrier. Not even for mop-up duty.

Discouraged about his lack of play in Land O'Lakes' offensive backfield? Maybe.

Letting it carry over to the other side of the line of scrimmage? Not a chance.

Graham is a fixture in the secondary and coach John Benedetto never considers resting the senior cornerback. Not even for a single play.

"He's a good running back and I'd like to be able to use him more (Graham has 53 yards on 19 carries), but I don't want to take away from the way he's playing defensively," Benedetto said.

Graham rewarded his coach's confidence with a school record-tying effort in last week's 29-14 win over Mitchell. Graham had three of the Gators' four interceptions in that game and shares the county lead with Zephyrhills' Bryan Thomas at five.

"It felt pretty good, because (the Land O'Lakes coaches) said Drew had three," said Graham, alluding to former Land O'Lakes standout Drew Weatherford, the county's only 7,000-yard passer and current Florida State quarterback. "Being in that category is pretty good."

Graham, a junior varsity player as a sophomore, was academically ineligible as a junior. His grades improved, in large part, due to his desire to return to the gridiron.

"Football, that's the only thing that got me," Graham said of his motivation to study.

Resting Graham while the offense is on the field sets just fine with Land O'Lakes assistant Bill Gebauer, who coaches the secondary.

"He's extraordinary," Gebauer said of Graham. "He's got a real good backpedal. At the snap of the football, he's backing up. And he knows when to get off the receiver and go get the runner."

"He reacts to the ball," said Rock Ridgeway, a Land O'Lakes assistant who works mostly with linebackers. "It's like he's the receiver."

Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz felt that Graham's record-tying game was a combination of the cornerback's athleticism and his own quarterback's misfirings.

"We threw into double coverage and (Graham) made the play," Schmitz said, adding that the Gators "do such a good job playing team defense that it's hard to single out one guy."

Benedetto gave Graham more credit than Schmitz, saying, "he was all over the (Mitchell) receivers. He's got that knack to be able to cover the receiver and know where the ball is."

For his part, Graham did not offer an elaborate theory for his thievery.

"It comes from practicing a lot and doing the drills," he said.

Added Ridgeway, "He's a hard worker. He does all the drills full-speed at practice."

[Last modified October 7, 2005, 01:50:23]