Grimble looks to add to impressive offer list

Las Vegas Bishop Gorman junior defensive lineman Jalen Grimble can expect a steady flow of scholarship offers to be delivered to his mailbox in a couple of weeks when prospects can be officially offered in writing. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder has already collected verbal offers from LSU, USC, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCLA, UNLV and Utah.

He is keeping in contact with several of the schools in the meantime, but says he doesn't have any favorites at this point.

"I call Utah every so often and UCLA to check in," Grimble said. "I call almost all the schools week to week and just talk to the ones that answer."

While his list of early offers is impressive, Grimble would like to hear more from a few schools that have not yet offered.

"I have seven offers, and I'd like to hear from Notre Dame, Oregon State and Oregon. Oregon, I like it because my cousin [Rivals100 TE Xavier Grimble] and I took a visit there last year," he said. "We checked out their campus and everything, and I just liked everything about it. Oregon State, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Michigan, those schools, I like their locations and how they play games and win."

Grimble says he has learned a lot about the recruiting game from his cousin and teammate.

"[Xavier] told me to take my time and watch who I talk to," he said. "He told me to take all my visits before I come close to my decision or anything like that. I need to check out schools and figure out what I like and don't like about them.

"I attended the UCLA camp, the USC Rising Star camp and as a team we went to Fresno State," he said. "I also went to the Nike camp at USC. Being related to him helped a little bit, but I think a lot of it came from going to camps at a young age and proving what I can do. I wanted to compete with the kids that are older than me."

While being related to the nation's top-ranked tight end has helped, Grimble feels he has earned his status as an elite prospect with his work in the offseason.

"I think I've proven myself," he said. "I went to all the camps and showed people what I can do and my skills. Whatever offers I got probably came from my work this summer.

"I tried to work on my first step off the ball, and I think it's a lot quicker now," Grimble said. "I improved my speed over the summer and I lost some weight."

Grimble is eager to show how much he has improved during his junior season.

"I want to show that I'm quick and also that I'm smart and I know the game well," he said. "I think my strengths are that I can read the ball well and I pursue it well. I have good hands, too."

While colleges continue to express immense interest in the talented lineman, Grimble says a college decision is still a ways off.

"I want to go through my junior season and get that out of the way - I'm just trying to concentrate on that right now," he said. "After my season I'll start worrying about recruiting and where I'm going to go."