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INSTANT IMPACT

Graves shows he belongs in All-American Bowl

Submitted photo by John Cernohous: Southeast Valley all-stater Aaron Graves, a future Iowa Hawkeye, drags down quarterback Drew Allar — a Penn State recruit — during the All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO — All of the nerves and worries quickly went away once Aaron Graves found his sanctuary on the football field.

The Southeast Valley senior’s name is well known throughout the midwest, and this past weekend, the nation got a glimpse of what Graves could bring to the Iowa Hawkeye defense and Big Ten Conference.

With the nation’s best high school seniors and future college athletes gathered for the All-American Bowl, the small-town lineman from Dayton got a taste of what’s to come.

“Going into the week, I was nervous,” Graves said. “I’ve never practiced or played against competition like this. I was wondering if I did belong and if I could compete.

“The game was reassuring and made me feel like I do belong — glory to God.”

On the third play from scrimmage, Graves ran on the outside edge from the left and chased down Drew Allar — a Penn State University recruit — for an eight-yard loss.

“That was awesome. It happened on the first possession, so it kind of set the tone,” Graves said. “It was a nice stunt off the edge. I twisted and chased him down. After that I was like, ‘did that really happen?’

“Then I looked for and pointed to my family.”

Graves, the state of Iowa’s football Gatorade Player of the Year for 2021, spent time chasing down the East backfield all game long with his speed and agility off the edge.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Southeast Valley senior was pitted against many of the nation’s top offensive line prospects, including Kentucky’s Kiyaunta Goodwin, who stands 6-8 and weighs 340.

With Graves speed and athleticism, he was able to get past Indiana’s No. 1-ranked recruit. Graves then attracted double teams throughout the game.

“It was the best of the best, and it was great to be able to compete with them,” Graves said. “Being around that level all week elevated my game.

“With all of the big school players there, I was able to kind of take notes and model my game from that.”

Graves, a four-star standout and the second-ranked recruit in Iowa behind future Hawkeye teammate and five-star prospect Xavier Nwankpa, enjoyed his time on the big stage with his parents and siblings in San Antonio.

“It was special to be able to share the experience with my family,” Graves said. “My parents and little brother were with me the whole time, and then the rest of my family came. It was pretty cool to be able to hang out with them.

“We went on the River Walk a couple of times and we were able to do some other things as well.”

The future Hawkeye spent a week in Texas preparing for the game and making his first transition from high school to college football.

“It was a pretty wild experience,” Graves said. “Coming from a small town and then playing on the national scale was eye-opening. The competition was the best in the nation.

“This was definitely an important transition to see what the competition will be like at the next level.”

Graves will also be on the field in July for the Iowa Shrine Bowl. The game is July 23 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

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