Gators Player Profile: Monitoring WR Trevon Grimes' growth entering 2019

When the University of Florida landed former Ohio State receiver and Rivals 5-star Trevon Grimes, everyone knew the Gators were getting a player with the raw potential to be a game-changer.

Grimes was immediately eligible to play in 2018 following his transfer from Ohio State, earning a hardship waiver for "family health issues". However, as a true sophomore entering the 2018 season and learning his second offense in as many years, there was always going to be a learning curve.

However, Trevon Grimes' curve is starting to straighten out.

In a smashmouth-spread style of offense that shares a ton of touches among numerous athletes, it was impressive to see Grimes rank third in receptions last year. However, over 30% of his 364 receiving yards came in one game - 118 yards against Florida State at the end of the season.

That's when we really started to see Grimes' comfort level growing in the offense and led to the expectation for his game to be fine-tuned entering 2019.

We will go through these clips starting with the "breakout" FSU game to understand both what Grimes did well and still needed to improve on. Then, we'll follow with spring game clips to see if there's been any improvement throughout the offseason training program.

Grimes has a very good feel for where his open zones develop by reading defenders movements. As the lone receiver on the top of the play, Grimes first opens up slightly to keep the cornerback outside of his frame. Then, Grimes picks up on the late safety coming down to contain the edge, and times his inside route break with that movement to maximize the open middle of the field.

Understanding these nuances from the defense separates receivers from just being a good athlete, but a smart player who can find and create openings.

Footwork and hip-sinking on sharper routes needed some work entering the offseason. This six yard curl route begins with a 10-by-1 yard cushion between Grimes and the defender, and QB Feleipe Franks won't release this ball until Grimes starts to get his head back to the QB.

However, Grimes runs through the break with heavy feet and doesn't sink his hips into it in order to speed up the break. That split second of extra time for the cornerback to react is the difference between the five yard gain on this play, and a ton of potential yards after the catch. Now, Grimes' size profile (6-5, 210 lbs.) makes agile cuts and turns a bit tougher without technique training, but it's still an area in which he can improve himself athletically.

This touchdown is a mixed bag in terms of Grimes' polish as a receiver in comparison to simply his big-play ability. He lightly opens the cornerbacks hips back inside on a stutter step, but it isn't fluid enough to totally sell the inside move and the cornerback recovers before Grimes can cleanly separate. With a bit more polish on the jab-step, Franks can release this pass to the back corner of the endzone with a wide-open Grimes before every scrambling. But, alas.

Franks pulls back the ball and scrambles in order to extend the play following the cornerback's recovery against Grimes, and Grimes uses physicality to get off his coverage and work back to the QB. With the cornerback's hips totally dedicated to the sideline, Grimes chops across his arms to get back inside and the cornerback flies into the dirt. Franks picks up on Grimes' move quickly and hits him with a laser for the score.

Plays like this can't be depended on, as the initial design for the play went unfulfilled due to Grimes' lack of separation. But the way Grimes fought to recover and eventually score was fantastic and a glimpse into the type of big-time plays he can make with his athletic profile.

Here's a similar example of Grimes failing to separate on vertical double moves:

It's not the end of the world, though. As previously mentioned, Grimes can grow in this area with technique training as his frame makes it tougher to possess naturally nimble feet and hips.

Grimes' natural advantages as a passing game weapon with his frame makes him a player that defenders can't ignore anywhere on the field. That requirement for opposing defenses can open up a ton of field for other contributors on Florida's offense.

Out wide, Grimes times his inside move with outside slot receiver Van Jefferson's break into his post route in order to prevent the outside cornerback from chasing Jefferson. The cornerback is patient as he has to watch the low flat route until the linebacker makes his way outside, and Grimes cuts in front of the corner's vision to Jefferson and demands both his and the middle linebacker's attention in the middle of the field. This opens the entirety of the field up to Jefferson, who has a 10 yard cushion from the safety as he makes his inside break.

Grimes is the secondary read here, but is pivotal to the success of the play. If he didn't sell his in-route to draw defenders his way, Jefferson would have been covered moving through his post. Now, that would have led to an open Grimes with field to work with, but Jefferson's route had a lot more yardage potential than Grimes. All in all, it's a fantastic play design that requires WR chemistry and for Grimes to be a decoy.

Onto the 2019 Orange and Blue game. Unlike the curl route seen in the FSU game, here Grimes breaks much better on a seven yard slat, covering that yardage on only five total steps and getting his head/body back towards Franks quickly. This gives Grimes the time to shake the nearest defender after the catch, which takes this play plenty further down the field on the outside rather than the middle of the field.

Unfortunately, a better angle of this play wasn't available on YouTube. But on this play, all-verticals across the formation which head coach Dan Mullen has broken down in this video, Grimes times his vertical break in order to separate from the low cornerback and away from the deep safety.

As Mullen states in the linked video, each receiver has a "landmark" to hit in order to truly spread the field out. In Grimes and Jefferson's case (Jefferson is the outside receiver at the top of the screen), they are required to split the boundary and numbers before climbing vertically. Grimes gets to that landmark hip-to-hip with the cornerbacks, and immediately accelerates vertically and totally separates himself from any coverage: Easy touchdown.

Another noticeable improvement: Selling double moves. Despite moving outside to hit his vertical "landmark" like the above play that was run prior to this play, Grimes sells an inside move to keep the cornerback flat-footed rather than opening up his hips in man coverage to pursue Grimes in between the numbers and boundary. Grimes takes advantage of the cornerback's lack of reaction, gets back outside, and ends up wide open.

Now, of course, this is footage from an upgraded version of practice, but these are positive signs of growth for the highly intriguing Gators junior receiver. Trevon Grimes is part of a largely talented wide receiver room and the ball will remain spread out going forward, but Grimes' physical attributes makes him a sturdy target in isolated and contested catch situations, and his growth as a route runner only makes him more polished.

If Grimes can continue on this development path, expect huge things from him going forward.