College football coaches from a slew of major programs have been in frequent contact with four-star defensive end/linebacker Reggie Grimes II since Sept. 1, when coaches were allowed to start reaching out to junior prospects.
Clemson defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall and defensive coordinator Brent Venables are among the coaches who have been hitting up Grimes, the son of former Alabama defensive lineman Reggie Grimes Sr.
The younger Grimes, who is one of the highest-rated prospects in the Class of 2020, said he has communicated with Hall and Venables “a lot” about “mainly just getting me down there for a game.”
The Mount Juliet (Tenn.) standout said he intends to visit Death Valley as well as a couple of other places this season.
“I’ll definitely be at Alabama next week, Clemson and Ohio State sometime after that,” Grimes told The Clemson Insider.
Grimes (6-4, 215) made his latest visit to Tennessee this past weekend.
The top-50 national prospect most recently visited Clemson in June to compete at the Dabo Swinney Camp, after which he earned an offer from the Tigers. Grimes also attended Clemson’s win over Florida State at Death Valley in 2017.
Grimes said he is excited for “another chance to see the game-day atmosphere” when he returns to Memorial Stadium this fall.
“It was intense,” he recalled, reflecting on the environment he experienced at Death Valley last year.
In addition to Clemson, Grimes holds offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State, South Carolina, LSU, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Louisville and others.
Heading into his Clemson visit, the Tigers are in a good position in the Crimson Tide legacy’s recruitment.
“I like the coaching staff and the style of play,” Grimes said. “Clemson is definitely in my top three.”
Grimes is ranked among the top 75 prospects in the 2020 recruiting class by all of the major recruiting services. He is ranked as a top-50 overall prospect by ESPN, while 247Sports rates him as the No. 3 weak-side defensive end and No. 22 overall prospect for his class.