North Mesquite High School Alum & Poteet High School Football Coach
Todd Graham knows a thing or two about winning. A member of the first undefeated team in North Mesquite’s history, Coach Graham’s success in football only grew from there. The former NMHS All-State defensive back earned a scholarship to East Central University and briefly signed with the Arizona Cardinals before turning to coaching in 1988. His former Coach Bill Taylor hired him as an assistant at Poteet High School, where he stayed until 1990. After several more stints as an assistant coach, Graham landed his first college head coaching gig in 2007 at Rice University. He immediately led them to a bowl game - something that had not been done since 1961. Graham went on to coach for Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State, where he won the 2013 PAC-12 Coach of the Year. In 2020, he was named head coach of the University of Hawaii, where he currently resides. At the time of his induction, Graham boasts an impressive 60% head coaching record.
