Embarking on his second season with the Sycamores and coaching the ISU running backs under offensive coordinator Blair Hrovat is Jimmy Graves.

In 2006, Graves tutored a pair of spectacular tailbacks in Tony West and Darrius Gates. West rushed for 791 yards and five touchdowns in his first season with the Sycamore program. The highlight of West's year had to be his amazing 42-yard scamper for a touchdown as the Sycamores put a scare into Big Ten Purdue in the season opener.

The freshman Gates burst onto the scene in a big way during the first five games of the year before he was lost for the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury. Gates averaged 5.9 yards per rush over the course of the year before suffering the injury.

Graves came to Indiana State after spending the last two years as an assistant coach at Indianapolis Arlington High School.

Prior to working at Indy Arlington, Graves worked for four seasons as a full-time assistant coach at Butler, after spending two seasons as a part-time assistant coach. He worked with Butler’s running backs during the 2000 campaign, before taking over responsibility for the Bulldogs’ offensive line in 2001.

Graves joined the Bulldogs in the fall of 1999 as a volunteer assistant coach in charge of Butler’s defensive ends. He moved over to the offensive side two years later and helped the Bulldogs put together one of the top offensive units in the NCAA Division I-AA. Butler finished the 2000 season ranked fifth in the nation in passing offense, ninth in total offense and 13th in scoring offense.

A former high school teacher and administrator, Graves brought a mix of middle school, high school and college coaching experience to the Butler fold. He began his coaching career as offensive coordinator at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Ind., in 1993, before taking over as head football coach at Beckman Middle School in Gary in 1994. He served as running backs coach at North Central High School in Indianapolis, 1995-97 & 1998, and as a graduate assistant coach at Indiana University in the fall of 1997. He also did a summer internship in 2000 with the San Francisco 49ers, working with running backs.

Graves was a running back in college, playing one season at Texas Southern University and three seasons at Indiana University. He earned his B.S. degree in physical education from Indiana in 1987. He resides in Indianapolis with his wife Karyn and his sons Jimmy and Jasen.