What Terry Bowden said about Joe Graves' return to ULM as tight ends coach

Joe Graves will return to Louisiana-Monroe as tight ends coach.

“I’m honored and grateful for this opportunity to return to ULM,” Graves said in a school release.

During the 2021 season, Graves was the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Georgia Southern.

“Joe Graves is a high-energy coach and an outstanding recruiter,” coach Terry Bowden said. “His offensive line background gives him great perspective as a skill position coach, and he’s leveraged that to be successful everywhere he’s been. His deep Louisiana ties give us an in-state recruiting a boost, especially in Baton Rouge and on the Northshore.”

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Graves elevated special teams for the Eagles. NaJee Thompson was named Pro Football Network first team All-American as the top special teams player. Anthony Beck II was named second team All-Sun Belt Conference punter and was second in the in the conference for average.

Graves, who is from Covington, started his coaching career at Southeastern Louisiana as running backs coach from (2016-17). He was a three-year starter on the offensive line for Southeastern.

Graves is no stranger to ULM. He was a graduate assistant in 2018, learning from former offensive line coach Eman Naghavi. He went on to coach running backs from 2019-20.

In his three years with ULM, Graves worked alongside offensive coordinator Matt Kubik and wide receivers coach John Carr.

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“It’s very exciting to be reunited with Matt and John Carr," Graves said. "Not only are those guys great football coaches, but they’re even better people. We all want to be here to help Coach Bowden create a consistent, winning program.”

Emely Hernandez covers University of Louisiana-Monroe athletics and high school sports. Email her at ehernandez@thenewsstar.com and follow her on Twitter @emhernandeznews.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: What Terry Bowden said on Joe Graves' return to ULM as tight ends coach