Recruiting journey is at an end

Greg Grimes thought the road to a college football scholarship would be smooth, like cruising down Interstate 5 in a luxury ride.

Instead, Grimes experienced a dizzying recruiting journey – from projections that he'd be at one of many Pacific-10 Conference schools, to places such as San Diego State, Utah State and, now, his final destination, Boise State.

It will be settled Wednesday when Grimes and high school football players across the country officially sign scholarship offers. Grimes will become a Bronco, an appropriate mascot for someone who has held on throughout a rough recruiting ride.

"The recruiting process has not made me mad," he said. "But it was frustrating. Now, I'm more motivated to go out and prove that I'm a quality player."

The Inderkum High School senior offensive and defensive lineman gained plenty of attention during the summer. He planned to verbally commit to a major program before the start of the prep season. But high-profile coaches did not visit, and anticipation turned to concern for Grimes and his family.

"All I can say is that my son is a survivor," said Grimes' mother, Deborah Grimes. "Some might say he's a victim. But he is really a survivor of the recruiting game."

Grimes' expectations and hopes rose considerably after his name gained cachet with his sterling performance at the Nike Football Camp at Stanford in May. He was named the camp's most valuable defensive lineman, getting the most out of his 6-foot-1, 285-pound frame and eclipsing bigger players.

The award validated a similar honor he won for his performance at the 2006 Cal camp. Grimes put on such a show Rivals.com rated him the country's 52nd-best defensive tackle and the state's 87th-best player in July.

Grimes was doing other things it generally takes to turn recruiters' heads. The son of former Washington strong safety Greg Grimes Sr. had the grades and test scores to qualify for a scholarship.

Observers touted Grimes as a player in the mold of former Raiders standout Warren Sapp, at 6-2, 300 pounds a relatively small defensive lineman who played big.

Despite the honors, the grades and the ability, though, the thing Grimes needed most – strong belief in him by the people choosing players for their schools – waned. Few marquee schools remained interested because Grimes didn't possess the size of a prototypical lineman.

Unlike Pleasant Grove's Armond Armstead, a 6-6, 284-pounder who is expected to sign with USC, scouts considered Grimes too small to play defensive tackle despite his strength and quickness.

Scouts wanted more from Grimes, and he did his best to provide it. He helped lead Inderkum to a 10-2 record and a berth in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. He was second on his team in tackles (94) and sacks (five), and was first-team All–Metro on defense and earned Player of the Year consideration.

It still wasn't enough, and at season's end in December, Grimes remained available. He said scouts made offers, then rescinded them.

But Grimes also held to his belief he is cut out for defense.

"Scouts from big schools wanted to recruit me as (an) offensive lineman, and I didn't want to do that because I'm a 'D' lineman," he said last week. "Or scouts from big schools called and said they were interested in me (defensively), but they never came through on their promise."

Grimes' parents said Arizona State was particularly misleading. They claimed ASU invited them and Greg to visit Tempe, Ariz., for an official visit Jan. 18, but later canceled the trip.

"They said they were going to give Greg an offer during the visit," Greg Grimes Sr. said. "So we bought nonrefundable plane tickets and were planning to go. Then they called back, saying they over-extended themselves with offers and couldn't do anything for my son."

Because of NCAA rules, recruiters are not allowed to talk publicly about players.

The schools weren't alone in changing their position, though. Grimes made a verbal commitment to Utah State on Thursday, but Monday he took it back and said he would take Boise State's offer instead.

Utah State was 2-10 in 2007. Boise State was 10-3, including a Hawaii Bowl loss. In 2006, Boise State was 13-0 and beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

"I was surprised by the offer," he said. "I was at a friend's house when my mother called and she told me the news. I couldn't turn it down. I wanted to play for a winner."

"Greg's goals are to get his degree, play for a championship contender and play for a school that will prepare him to play on Sundays (in the NFL)," Deborah Grimes said.

"In the end, I'm very happy because Greg is getting everything he wanted. But the process did have a psychological impact. Probably, most kids wouldn't have been able to handle it.

"But my son did. He had an idea it could be an up-and-down process. But he survived it anyway."

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