When Michigan superstar defensive lineman Mason Graham took the field against Fresno State on Saturday night, it wasn’t far-fetched to think that, back in the summer of 2021, this would be a regular occurrence.
At the time, Graham was committed to Boise State, and the Anaheim native figured he’d be playing against the Bulldogs for Mountain West Conference titles. At one point, Fresno State was his only offer, so he might have even ended up in a Bulldogs uniform.
Yet it was the former director of player personnel at Fresno State who helped change the trajectory of Graham’s future, giving the Wolverines a standout on the interior en route to the 2023 national championship and cementing Graham’s status as an All-American and one of college football’s elite defenders.
Mason Graham’s recruiting beginnings
The Bulldogs were the first to offer Graham, doing so largely based on sophomore film, as California’s high school season had been postponed in the fall of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Courtney Morgan, then Fresno State’s director of player personnel and now college football’s highest-paid GM at Alabama, was doing what many football staffers were doing during the pandemic — immersing themselves in as much film as possible. There were no college camps that summer, half the country wasn’t playing in the fall, some were waiting until the spring of 2021, and there were hardly any showcases, unofficial visits, or official visits.
So, Morgan scoured the internet, watching as much film as he could, trying to find defensive linemen.
Morgan, a Michigan alum who grew up in Southern California, was captivated by Graham. In November 2020, Fresno State, Morgan, and first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer extended Graham his first offer.
A couple of months later, an Ivy League offer came in from Pennsylvania, followed by Graham’s first Power Five offer from Oregon State and head coach Jonathan Smith.
Still, it was mostly Mountain West schools pursuing Graham. He received five straight offers from the MW: Colorado State, UNLV, Boise State, San Jose State, and Utah State.
His film from his junior campaign in the spring 2021 season made the rounds, but most schools were focused on Servite High School star receiver Tetairoa McMillan instead of Graham.
Graham commits to Boise State, which was ‘nervous’
Oregon State managed to get an official visit from Graham shortly after the NCAA reopened recruiting. However, Graham decided to play for Boise State and committed to the Broncos in mid-July.
It was an under-the-radar win for Andy Avalos, who had just been hired that winter as head coach of the Broncos, his alma mater.
But Avalos was nervous as the fall approached, knowing a “normal” high school football season in Southern California could mean more exposure for Graham and increased interest from other schools.
It only took two games for Avalos’ fears to come true.
Graham’s stock rises and Michigan takes notice
After a dominant start to his senior season — with a five-sack performance in the season opener against Huntington Beach Edison, followed by seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack against Mission Viejo — Graham’s stock rose. He was often double- and triple-teamed.
At that point, Morgan, who had returned to Michigan as its director of player personnel, reached out to Graham again. Morgan convinced Michigan’s defensive line coach Shaun Nua and head coach Jim Harbaugh that a Mountain West commit could not only play in the Big Ten but dominate it. Morgan and Nua, Michigan’s defensive line coach, offered Graham a scholarship.
Less than two weeks later, Graham took an official visit to Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines pummeled a struggling Washington program.
Within a week, Graham decommitted from Boise State and gave his pledge to Michigan. He’d finish as a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting Class.
The rest is history
In a full-circle moment, Graham and the Michigan defense later helped limit Washington’s potent offense in the national title game. The Huskies were coached by Kalen DeBoer, the first head coach to offer Graham, and had Morgan’s fingerprints on them as their former director of player personnel.
Just a week before, Graham and the Wolverines had ended the career of Nick Saban and Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Graham, a childhood UCLA fan, had always dreamed of playing in the Rose Bowl but wasn’t recruited by Chip Kelly’s Bruins.
Four days after the national title game, DeBoer and Morgan left Washington for Alabama. DeBoer took over for Saban as head coach, and Morgan joined as general manager.
Meanwhile, Ohio State, reeling from a third straight loss to Michigan and a defense led by Graham that caused problems for Ryan Day’s offense, hired Kelly — the coach who had never bothered to recruit Graham — as its offensive coordinator. His one task: beat Michigan and solve a defense that had stymied them.
This weekend, Graham faces Texas and its high-flying offense. In two weeks, he faces off against a team he grew up rooting against — the USC Trojans — who are coached along the defensive line by Nua, who recruited him at Michigan.
Michigan does not have UCLA on the schedule this fall, which Graham would have loved. The two schools won’t play until 2026. Graham will be tearing up NFL offensive lines by then.
