National Signing Day 2017: WR Trevon Grimes signs with Ohio State

From the start, the recruiting saga for top Florida receiver Trevon Grimes seemed destined for Urban Meyer and Ohio State. Fast forward to Signing Day 2017, and it’s official for Grimes and the Buckeyes.

To land Grimes, Meyer went back to the well at St. Thomas Aquinas and continued developing his deep relationship with the Florida prep power. After landing both Joey and Nick Bosa from Aquinas, Grimes was a pass catcher the Buckeyes desperately wanted to bring to Columbus.

As the recruitment for the the country’s fifth-ranked wide receiver and No. 39 prospect (per the 247Sports Composite) began to rise, Ohio State seemed to be the clear-cut leader. While the Florida Gators and others tried their best to keep Grimes home, the relationships between Grimes, Meyer, and wide receivers coach Zach Smith was too strong for any program to overcome as he committed to the Buckeyes on August 22nd of 2016.

While Grimes’ final prep season at Aquinas was cut short due to an ACL injury, there was never a doubt in Ohio State’s mind that he wouldn’t make a full recovery and return back to form as easily one of the nation’s best receivers in the 2017 class. With a successful recovery up to this point, that looks to be the case as Grimes is working hard and getting stronger with each passing day as he plans to come in and be a difference maker for a receivers corps that lost most of its production due to early departures for the NFL Draft.

With his 6’3, 205-pound frame, Grimes will be able to come in and immediately bring the presence of an elite deep threat receiver that Ohio State desperately lacked in the 2016 season. A true talent, Grimes is the highest ranked receiver Ohio State brings in this year and Meyer’s highest ranked true receiver since he’s been at the helm of the Buckeye program.

With lofty expectations, Grimes has never backed down from a challenge and will look to come in and compete for playing time as soon as he reaches campus and makes a full ACL recovery. The sky is the limit for the Florida native and Ohio State certainly knows what it’s getting in Grimes as the two parties have a deep history.

He knows all of his dreams are possible at Ohio State:

Scouting Report

Grimes’ stature makes him a striking figure out wide. He has a deceptively quick first step out of his stance, given his size, which allows him to get on top of the toes of the opposing cornerback. His route running is smooth and precise for what he was asked to run at St. Thomas Aquinas. Being bigger than every corner he faced in high school, he was asked to run fades, verticals, deep-ins, and posts to use his speed and power to separate and allow him to be at maximum speed when catching the football. He was sometimes asked to run screens and slants, but he was mostly targeted 10-plus yards downfield.

When Grimes was targeted on a throw, he used his body extremely well to box out the defender and go up and get the ball. He has great body control on fades and underthrown passes, and typically came down with the football. He was underthrown a decent amount as a junior, which showed off his elite catch radius. Grimes possesses big, soft hands which stand out when he’s plucking the ball out of the air.

Even though Grimes is supremely athletic, he won’t be able to take a shallow crosser 70 yards at Ohio State, but he can run a post pattern, stiff arm the corner and go the distance. He’s also not afraid to go across the middle and catch the ball in traffic. Grimes shows extreme toughness after the catch, similar to Michael Thomas.

In order to get a little quicker and better for the quick-strike Ohio State offense, Aquinas should’ve used Grimes more in the short to intermediate game. Yes, the Buckeyes take chances deep, but even with a possession WR like Thomas, he was primarily used as an intermediate receiver. Grimes has a similar build to Thomas and the former Buckeye was known as one of the best slant route runners in the country. If Grimes can add that to his repertoire, watch out. — Christopher Jason

Highlights