Gophers receive a commitment from USC transfer WR Randal Grimes

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The Gophers have received a commitment from wide receiver Randal Grimes, a transfer from USC.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide receiver was a four-star prospect out of high school and grew up in Las Vegas, Nev. (Desert Pines High School), the same school as 2019 signee, Cameron Wiley and current safety Jordan Howden. He originally chose USC over offers from Nebraska, BYU, Tennessee and others.

Grimes recorded two receptions in two seasons at USC. He played in 2017 and recently redshirted last season. He will need to sit out next fall due to NCAA transfer rules, but will likely have two years of eligibility remaining. With the Trojans, Grimes impressed coaches in summer practice and earned a small amount of playing time as a freshman. He suffered a broken bone in his hand late in the 2017 season and the coaches decided to redshirt him in 2018.

P.J. Fleck indicated the Gophers would be more active in the transfer portal and Grimes helps fulfill that mission. It also fits the mold of wide receiver body types Minnesota was looking to add at the wide receiver position.

At 6-foot-4, Grimes has a wide catch radius, plenty of long speed and athleticism/length. The Gophers wanted to add more size and mismatch ability to the room and Grimes will certainly fit that mold. With all of his rare athletic traits, wide receiver coach Matt Simon and P.J. Fleck have a receiver they can develop. The key will be polishing his route running and making sure he his fluid in and out of breaks. This has been a proven specialty of this staff, especially when they receive players with rare athletic traits like Grimes. With all of this length, dropping your hips can be extra difficult without a distinct focus on the technique. After focusing on the details, he has the potential to develop into a mismatch nightmare the Gophers can deploy.

In high school, following an injury to a starter, he showed off all of his versatility when he was asked to play quarterback. While playing wide receiver as a junior, Grimes posted 26 receptions for 548 yards and seven touchdowns. Grimes moves very fluidly and is explosive when he gets the ball in space. Out of the bubble screen game, he sheds tackles and fights through contact. Grimes slides between tackles and moves well for a player with all of his size and mismatch ability. With a refinement of his technique, he has the chance to be a dynamic offensive weapon. At Minnesota, he’ll have every chance to use all of the skills he has at the wide receiver position.

<iframe src='//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6303419/5721ca490428ae20e4c4e12d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

I recently talked with a mentor of Grimes’, who had this to say about the young wide receiver:

"He's confident because of his hard work, has a chip on his shoulder and is motivated to be a blessing in life to family and all people. Grimes has a smile that lights up the earth. He is the most humble and always looking to help. You have to be a special young person to be prepared to shine at Minnesota, Grimes is perfectly special. I have chills because the mix of him and P.J. Fleck is the best mix of a coach and student-athlete that I can imagine."

Stay tuned for a complete feature that will drop this week!
 
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He was a 4 star kid (both Rivals and 247) although the “composite” had him as a 3. Maybe some off the field stuff plus a plethora of WR talent at USC buried him. We should be really happy to have him if he’s got the motivation to do the right things and sees the field. My question is who does he take reps from in 2020? Talent is building up at WR.
 

He was a 4 star kid (both Rivals and 247) although the “composite” had him as a 3. Maybe some off the field stuff plus a plethora of WR talent at USC buried him. We should be really happy to have him if he’s got the motivation to do the right things and sees the field. My question is who does he take reps from in 2020? Talent is building up at WR.

Well, at least you managed to get positive by your last sentence.
 

Well, at least you managed to get positive by your last sentence.

Why do you think he’s transferring from SC to MN? He’s a promising 4 star talent for the staff to develop - nothing more, nothing less. He’ll have a great opportunity at MN. You’re off your miralax again.
 


Maybe he’ll be all B1G, but he’s not transferring because he’s st the top of the depth chart.
 

USC message board on the transfer:

https://wearesc.com/forum/index.php...ansfer-visiting-minnesota-this-weekend.58247/


Some quotes:

"Wish we were as deep at online as we are at wr..."

"I am going to guess that getting Williams in 2018 made Grimes "expandable" as both were similar.
I wish him nothing but the best and wish he would have been able to get more reps here at USC."

"I once thought Grimes would be a steal as a big, physical WR....good luck to him!

Too bad it never worked out."
 

Why do you think he’s transferring from SC to MN? He’s a promising 4 star talent for the staff to develop - nothing more, nothing less. He’ll have a great opportunity at MN. You’re off your miralax again.

Wardrobe colors very similar!
 

Welcome aboard, Grimes!
That LV high school is becoming a SE version of Eden Prairie as far as producing Gopher football players.
 



The Gophers have received a commitment from wide receiver Randal Grimes, a transfer from USC.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide receiver was a four-star prospect out of high school and grew up in Las Vegas, Nev. (Desert Pines High School), the same school as 2019 signee, Cameron Wiley and current safety Jordan Howden. He originally chose USC over offers from Nebraska, BYU, Tennessee and others.

Grimes recorded two receptions in two seasons at USC. He played in 2017 and recently redshirted last season. He will need to sit out next fall due to NCAA transfer rules, but will likely have two years of eligibility remaining. With the Trojans, Grimes impressed coaches in summer practice and earned a small amount of playing time as a freshman. He suffered a broken bone in his hand late in the 2017 season and the coaches decided to redshirt him in 2018.

P.J. Fleck indicated the Gophers would be more active in the transfer portal and Grimes helps fulfill that mission. It also fits the mold of wide receiver body types Minnesota was looking to add at the wide receiver position.

At 6-foot-4, Grimes has a wide catch radius, plenty of long speed and athleticism/length. The Gophers wanted to add more size and mismatch ability to the room and Grimes will certainly fit that mold. With all of his rare athletic traits, wide receiver coach Matt Simon and P.J. Fleck have a receiver they can develop. The key will be polishing his route running and making sure he his fluid in and out of breaks. This has been a proven specialty of this staff, especially when they receive players with rare athletic traits like Grimes. With all of this length, dropping your hips can be extra difficult without a distinct focus on the technique. After focusing on the details, he has the potential to develop into a mismatch nightmare the Gophers can deploy.

In high school, following an injury to a starter, he showed off all of his versatility when he was asked to play quarterback. While playing wide receiver as a junior, Grimes posted 26 receptions for 548 yards and seven touchdowns. Grimes moves very fluidly and is explosive when he gets the ball in space. Out of the bubble screen game, he sheds tackles and fights through contact. Grimes slides between tackles and moves well for a player with all of his size and mismatch ability. With a refinement of his technique, he has the chance to be a dynamic offensive weapon. At Minnesota, he’ll have every chance to use all of the skills he has at the wide receiver position.

<iframe src='//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6303419/5721ca490428ae20e4c4e12d' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

I recently talked with a mentor of Grimes’, who had this to say about the young wide receiver:

"He's confident because of his hard work, has a chip on his shoulder and is motivated to be a blessing in life to family and all people. Grimes has a smile that lights up the earth. He is the most humble and always looking to help. You have to be a special young person to be prepared to shine at Minnesota, Grimes is perfectly special. I have chills because the mix of him and P.J. Fleck is the best mix of a coach and student-athlete that I can imagine."

Stay tuned for a complete feature that will drop this week!

Maybe he can play safety?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Big athletic kid - year to learn the system. Sounds great!
 

The only downside is he will effectively be in the same class as our frosh receivers. So we will lose four guys at once. Seems like a potentially great addition.
 

The only downside is he will effectively be in the same class as our frosh receivers. So we will lose four guys at once. Seems like a potentially great addition.

True, but they might not be the best guys their senior years. I’m also not sure that Bateman will be here for four years.
 



USC message board on the transfer:

https://wearesc.com/forum/index.php...ansfer-visiting-minnesota-this-weekend.58247/


Some quotes:

"Wish we were as deep at online as we are at wr..."

"I am going to guess that getting Williams in 2018 made Grimes "expandable" as both were similar.
I wish him nothing but the best and wish he would have been able to get more reps here at USC."

"I once thought Grimes would be a steal as a big, physical WR....good luck to him!

Too bad it never worked out."

Here is a kid that has it as far as talent is concerned in a team full of talented WRs. Competition is stiff with a new FR wunderkind recruit or two anointed each recruiting class. You get injured like he does, and you can get passed over real quickly by the new FR sensation(s).

If you have the talent, but need time in a developmental program I don't think USC necessarily is the place. So, IMHO it is a wise choice for Grimes to come to MN where they can coach him up and develop him while he sits out a year. We can certainly appreciate his value more than USC.
 

It's too bad he will lose a year to actually play. Here's to hoping his two years on the field are stellar.
 

Why does Grimes have to sit a year here but Fields isn’t out a year at OSU?
 

Why do you think he’s transferring from SC to MN? He’s a promising 4 star talent for the staff to develop - nothing more, nothing less. He’ll have a great opportunity at MN. You’re off your miralax again.

Don't let the troll out in Arizona get to you. Just ignore him
 

Why does Grimes have to sit a year here but Fields isn’t out a year at OSU?

Because Fields thinks he’s special and deserves special treatment. Despite having grown up in Georgia he didn’t know the social climate there, or something. He had no other college options for playing coming out of a Georgia high school, so he resigned himself to the hotbed of white nationalists on campus at UGA.
 


Because Fields thinks he’s special and deserves special treatment. Despite having grown up in Georgia he didn’t know the social climate there, or something. He had no other college options for playing coming out of a Georgia high school, so he resigned himself to the hotbed of white nationalists on campus at UGA.

It's hard to blame him. We'll see if the NCAA has a backbone.
 



Very intriguing pick up. Like Tyler Johnson, Grimes was a HS QB, who had to learn the WR position on college. The transfer gives him an extra year to work with Fleck, Simon & Tyler Johnson. Grimes should play the same WR spot as Johnson, so when Johnson leaves after his Sr season, hopefully Grimes is ready to step in without a huge drop off.
 


Watch his video. He's plenty fast. Reminds me a lot of Tyler Johnson in body type, stride & athleticism.

Agreed but he seems bigger and stronger...and maybe faster. He is what I call a resourceful player. Lots of creative moves.
 

Is he arriving in January for spring football?
 



I've appreciated the many positive posts. I'm hoping for a spirited competition between Grimes and Adim-Madumere to succeed Tyler Johnson. Since I'm hoping that Jacob Clark is the QB by then, I want great targets. What struck me most about Grimes' commitment is that, even after Johnson leaves, the Gophers will have something I've never seen before with the Gophers---quality WR depth. I really like the 2019 WR additions including Grimes, and the 2020 targets.
 

Since I'm hoping that Jacob Clark is the QB by then, I want great targets.

I'm hoping Tanner Morgan is all-Big Ten and a Heisman contender by then, so that's why I want great targets.
 




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