The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Grimsley is former standout at Tampa Catholic originally signed with the Crimson Tide Dec. 20 and even practiced with the team in January prior to the College Football Playoffs.
A big recruiting weekend for Florida football a month after Early National Signing Day yielded a second top defender Sunday when 4-star cornerback Jameer Grimsley committed to the Gators.
Grimsley was the latest top recruit to leave Alabama after Nick Saban’s surprising Jan. 10 retirement led the school to hire Washington’s Kalen DeBoer. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Grimsley is former standout at Tampa Catholic originally signed with the Crimson Tide Dec. 20 and even practiced with the team in January prior to the College Football Playoffs.
On Jan. 22, Grimsley confirmed on social media a report by On3.com he was bound for Gainesville.
Two days earlier, former Orlando Jones defensive tackle D’antre Robinson announced his commitment to UF after the Texas Longhorns released him from scholarship papers he signed Dec. 20.
The two newcomers elevated the Gators’ 2024 class a spot in the national rankings to No. 15.
Grimsley is the No. 17 cornerback prospect in 2024 and No. 189 overall recruit, according to 247Sports composite rankings. The No. 4 player in the Sentinel’s 2024 Central Florida Super60, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Robinson is the nation’s No. 34 defensive lineman and No. 252 overall prospect. He recorded 79 tackles, including 10 sacks, in 2023.
Grimsley is the Gators’ third defensive back added since Early National Signing Day, joining former Oregon cornerback Trikweze Bridges and former Tulane safety DJ Douglas. UF signed cornerback Teddy Foster Jr. and safeties Josiah Davis and Gregory Smith III out of high school.
Robinson joins 5-star edge rusher LJ McCray of Daytona Mainland and interior lineman Michai Boireau in Florida’s 2024 class. The Gators also inked three transfers: tackle Joey Slackman of Penn along with edge rushers George Gumbs Jr. of Northern Illinois and Brien Taylor, a standout at Blinn Junior College.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
