Nevada class of 11 DL lands first offer

There are many reasons why the Utah Utes have one of the best non-BCS football programs going. One of the reasons is they do a stand up job indentifying talent. Many times Utah is way ahead of the curve. The Utes have tendered an offer to player out of the class of 2011, who no doubt, will have many offers on which to choose from when February of 2011 comes around.

The player in question is defensive lineman, Jalen Grimble (6-3, 265, 5.0) from Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman.

The thing that makes Grimble an even more intriguing prospect is he's 15 years old and still hasn't finished growing. Though he plays defensive end for Bishop Gorman, don't be surprised if Grimble grows into the money position of defensive tackle.

Grimble, who is the younger cousin of USC commit, Xavier Grimble, was obviously pleased with his first offer.

"It was something I wasn't expecting," Grimble said. "It felt really good. Utah is a big program that went 12-0 and beat Alabama."

"It is an honor to get an offer from Utah," Grimble said. "They will definitely be in the mix when it comes time for me to make my decision."

That Utah will be in the mix when the decision comes around for Grimble's college choice is good news for the Utes. He has a very high ceiling and hasn't even come close to scratching the surface of his vast potential.

Though Grimble was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, competitor at the recent NIKE Camp in Los Angeles, he more than held his own and was amongst the best defensive linemen at the camp.

In the weight room, his current bench is 295 and his squat is 375.

As a sophomore, Grimble was one of the top sophomores in his conference, after racking up 28 tackles and six sacks.

A lot of young players get set on a position and want to play that position no matter what. That is not the case for Grimble.

"If I grow into a defensive tackle, so be it," Grimble said. "It's still on the defensive line. If I stay at defensive end that's fine, too, because I have been playing that position all of my life, no matter where I'm going to play, I'm still going to give it my all."

Are there any other schools that Grimble has his eye on?

"So far I like UCLA, USC, Cal, Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas Tech."

Grimble has already taken unofficial visits to UCLA and USC.