Report: Ohio State WR Trevon Grimes will transfer to Florida

The Florida Gators’ signing class as constituted after the early signing period for the 2018 recruiting cycle is a bit short on wide receivers.

Adding a former five-star wideout is one way to help mitigate that fact.

Former Ohio State wideout Trevon Grimes will transfer to Florida, reports David Furones of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and has signed paperwork to that effect that is still waiting to be cleared through Florida’s compliance department.

Grimes, a five-star wide receiver from the 2017 recruiting class who attended Florida high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas and served as the go-to target for Florida freshman Jake Allen there, left Ohio State’s team this fall to deal with a “family health issue” and spent much of the fall in the Sunshine State.

“I just felt like [Florida] fit for me. It’s close to home. Of course, being in my situation that I’m in right now, I have to be close to home,” Grimes said.

Rumors had been swirling during the season that a transfer to Miami might have been in store.

“It was a pretty big decision for me to know that Miami is 30, 40 minutes away from my house, but I also know that my mom always told me, ‘This is about you, and you have to go where you feel comfortable,’” said Grimes, who recorded three catches for 20 yards as a freshman with the Buckeyes. “I’ve talked to [UF co-offensive coordinator Billy] Gonzales about the receiver situation, about how many receivers they have. I feel like I fit in to that offense and that program very well.”

Prior to leaving the Buckeyes, he recorded three catches for 20 yards.

Grimes is the second high-profile wide receiver to opt to transfer to Florida in the space of a week. Ole Miss wideout Van Jefferson made his decision to transfer to Florida public on Monday.

But while Jefferson might be eligible to play in 2018 by virtue of either being a graduate transfer or an NCAA waiver granted for Rebels players who were blindsided by former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze being fired for cause, Grimes is likely going to have to rely on an NCAA waiver to be eligible next season.

If there is a legitimate family medical issue that Grimes can document that makes his presence closer to home necessary or desired, however, such a waiver might be a formality. Florida center T.J. McCoy was immediately eligible for the Gators in the fall of 2015 after transferring from N.C. State that summer thanks to a hardship waiver granted in a similar situation.