Sure, Meadowbrook (Richmond, VA) 6-3, 240-pound star John Graves has excellent talent. He already has formal scholarship offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech and is drawing heavy interest from Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and UNC among others. But, beyond his blue-chip recruit status, Graves is a great symbol of what Meadowbrook High School’s varsity football team is made of – a lot of hard working, determined individuals who came together last season to capture the Division 5 state championship title.

“He works hard, has got good grades, is very grounded and down-to-earth and he’s got his goal in sight and is going to reach it,” Meadowbrook head coach Bill Bowles said of Graves. “He’s just a great kid to work with. He’s a throwback to the old days. He’s a yes sir, no sir kind of kid and if you need something to be done he’ll do it. John is one of those people that gets on the other players, but he does it in a positive way. He doesn’t do it in a bully type way and he leads a lot by example.

“We’ve got a good group of junior ball players so I don’t have to worry about leadership next year, and John is one of them.”

Graves wasn’t surprised in the least to be in the thick of the state championship hunt last season. He and the rest of his teammates had been working towards this goal for some time.

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