Gorman’s Grimble finds right fit with Miami

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 | 7:09 p.m.

Jalen Grimble sat at a table in the Bishop Gorman High gym Wednesday afternoon with the school’s other athletes who signed national letters of intent earlier in the day.

From soccer players to cross country runners, each was given an opportunity to thank family and talk about the trials and tribulations of their athletic careers.

When the microphone finally made its way to Grimble, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end briefly paused to gather his thoughts.

After all, it’s been a wild ride.

The four-star recruit signed with Miami on Wednesday, picking the Hurricanes over offers from Southern California, UCLA, Nebraska and a host of other schools to end a near two-year recruiting process that was unpredictable until the end.

Grimble verbally committed to Southern California last May some four months before the start of his senior season. While commitments are non-binding and don’t become official until a letter of intent is signed on signing day, Grimble appeared to be a solid commitment.

That changed midway through January.

Grimble was informed he might be converted to an offensive lineman at Southern California and immediately began pursuing other options.

“Even with the mention (of playing) offense, I felt it wasn’t the right place for me,” Grimble said.

Word quickly spread online that Grimble was no longer committed to Southern California. He became overwhelmed with phone calls from coaches, reporters and friends anxious to hear of his plans.

In the end, Miami was the perfect fit.

Grimble already had a comfort level with Miami assistant Jethro Franklin, who previously recruited him while he was on the coaching staff at Southern California. So, when Grimble became a free agent of sorts, having a connection in Franklin at Miami made the Hurricanes an immediate front-runner.

“Last summer, I (had my mind made up) on being at USC,” Grimble said. “Now, we fast-forward to here. I would say two weeks ago, I knew (Miami) was the place for me.”

Grimble was a key contributor of Gorman’s defense that was downright dominant the last two years in winning a pair of state titles. This fall, they recorded eight shutouts and only surrendered 80 points in 15 games.

Grimble physically outplayed virtually everyone he faced, finishing with 71 tackles and six sacks. He’s a consensus top 100 overall recruit and the nation’s No. 20 defensive end prospect by Rivals.com.

“God blessed him with a tremendous amount of athletic ability,” Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said. “I’m very impressed with how he carried himself through his athletic career here. He was always humble and always hard working.”

Moving from one power to another made national headlines. Grimble, sporting a green Miami hat after months of wearing maroon and gold Southern California apparel, was noticeably emotional when talking about the process.

His first scholarship offer came during his sophomore year nearly two years ago. It’s been month after month of interview requests, proving skeptics wrong and trying to find a comfort level in the spotlight.

He was clearly relieved the process was over.

“Even with the down process that came, I always knew I’d find a place to call home,” Grimble said. “That place turned out to be Miami.”