'Show them what they missed out on.' Lake Gibson's Graham playing with extra motivation

LAKELAND — Fentrell Graham admits he was frustrated during his sophomore season in 2021. Stuck behind a glut of running backs at Lakeland, Graham felt he wasn't getting a chance to showcase his ability. He didn't finish the season and transferred to Lake Gibson.

He's been playing with a chip on his shoulder ever since arriving at his new school.

In his two years at Lake Gibson, Graham has emerged as one of the top running backs in the county. He'll help lead Lake Gibson with an edge and extra motivation when the Braves play Lakeland at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Virgil Ramage Stadium.

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"I just want to win and show them what I could have done there (for Lakeland), but I'm going to do it here (for Lake Gibson) on Friday night to them," Graham said. "I just want to show them what they missed out on basically."

Graham, whose brother Fenley starred on the 2018 state championship team and now plays at Florida A&M, missed out on being part of Lakeland's state championship season in 2022, but he has no regrets.

"I would rather be a part of the team where I can play and do what I do best, instead of staying at a school where I'm not playing and winning state because I didn't help him at all," Graham said.

There certainly was a glut of talent in the backfield his first two seasons. Despite the talent, some players were going to be left out. When Graham came into high school, the freshman class include D'Marius Rucker, Markel Johnson Rashad Orr, and Don'Ares Johnson was a sophomore.

Don'Ares rushed for more than 1,000 yards as junior and more than 800 as a senior. Rucker was a 1,000-yard rusher last year, and Markel Johnson, making the most of his limited chances, rushed for more than 700 yards last season. Orr moved on to Victory last season and was a 1,000-yard rusher, and he has rushed for 597 yards in four games this season for Lake Wales.

And Graham?

The 5-foot-11, 187-pound senior made the most of his opportunity since arriving at Lake Gibson. Expected to share the backfield with Jacoby Fowler, who had joined the Braves from Winter Haven, Graham became the primary back when Fowler went down in the spring with injury.

"It was horribly unfortunate that Jacoby got hurt," Lake Gibson coach Rich Pringle said. "But when it happened, we weren't really worried because we knew what we had in him already."

Indeed. Graham went on to rush for 763 yards on 127 carries (6.0 yards per carry) and scored seven touchdowns.

"I just knew what I was capable of doing," Graham said. "I've seen a lot and I knew what I could do, but I never got the opportunity. So it was like, I just want to go somewhere and show them what I can do."

Graham this year has 479 yard on 90 carries with five touchdowns.

"I got stronger and I'm more patient now," he said. "I just let my blocks develop. Last year, I just run and now I let my blocks develop and I get better runs."

Lake Gibson coach Rich Pringle has no complaints about the player, and person, Graham has been at Lake Gibson.

"He wants the ball," Pringle said. "We had one game, I think he had 30 carries this year. He's going to continue to be heavily involved in our offense. We've got all sorts of ways to do that. He's so dangerous in space that any time we can get him the ball, we know there's potential for a big play because he's just such an explosive player."

Graham, actually, had 30 carries in each of his first two games.

"He's the ballcarrier so he's going to carry the load, and he's got the physical ability," Graham said. "He worked his butt off the last year and a half with me in the weight room to make sure that he could carry the load."

Graham is also attracting the attention of college scouts, earning offers from Bethune-Cookman, Florida Atlantic and East Carolina. Pringle said Graham has the ability for more offers, although recruiting is different.

"It's hard to tell now with the way the recruiting game has changed and the transfer portal," Pringle said. "He's got the potential to play at the next levels. Whatever program gets him is going to get a tireless, hard worker. I do think he'll get some more offers, but I really think it comes down to how the transfer portal has completely changed the high school recruiting game."

For now, Graham is focused on his senior season. More specifically, Friday's game against Lakeland.

Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com. Follow him on X (formly Twitter): @RoyFuoco

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Gibson's Graham playing with extra motivation against Lakeland