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Cougars' K.J. Grimes adjusting well to changes

By The Eagle, 09/03/15, 5:30AM CDT

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College Station High School defensive tackle shines in opener

http://www.theeagle.com/brazos_sports/cougars-k-j-grimes-adjusting-well-to-changes/article_563d3fc4-5068-11e5-984c-87fcc09c7485.html

Posted: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 12:14 am

By LARRY BOWEN larry.bowen@theeagle.com

In a little more than two years, College Station senior K.J. Grimes has moved from Nebraska to Texas, from cross country to football and from defensive end to defensive tackle.

After all that, Grimes finds himself exactly where Cougars football coaches want him, in the middle of a defense coming off an encouraging shutout and looking for big things ... well, moving forward.

 

Grimes was one of the standouts last week as College Station opened the season with a 45-0 victory over Rosenberg Terry. The 220-pounder was credited with five solo stops, one assist and one tackle behind the line. Those statistics don’t indicate Grimes’ impact playing a new position against Terry’s veer offense that ran over the Cougars last season.

“He had an awesome debut,” assistant coach Chance Locklear said. “There were a number of times that he tackled his responsibility and then the quarterback pulls the ball, so he doesn’t get credit for a tackle. He did a great job of taking on double teams and filling in where we needed him to, and then running to the ball after that.”

Grimes considered himself a distance runner when his family moved to College Station in the summer after his freshman year. Although he was bigger than most other runners at about 170 pounds, Grimes was drawn to the sport because of his mother, who competed in the steeplechase while in college.

He stuck with cross country in his sophomore year at College Station, but nagging injuries convinced Grimes to join the football program for spring workouts in 2014.

Although his previous football experience was during middle school and midget league — “nothing as serious as here in Texas,” he said — Grimes developed quickly. He earned a starting spot at end last season, earning honorable mention all-district honors and helping the Cougars qualify for the state playoffs in their first year of eligibility.

“It kind of happened so fast that I didn’t really realize it as I was going through it,” Grimes said, “but then I stopped and looked back and realized how big a step I’d made from being a 170-pound distance runner to being a 220-pound defensive lineman.

“I felt confident in my ability as an athlete to be able to adapt to playing football, but I went in with the mindset that I needed to work hard every day and it all just kind of came together. It wasn’t as surprising as you may think.”

Grimes made the move from end to tackle about midway through spring drills. End usually is considered more of a glamor position than tackle, where linemen battle more traffic inside and more often are asked to stop the run than sack the quarterback.

“It’s satisfying to see your name in the paper or hear it announced, but when you’re as close as we are as a team, I feel just as hyped up and just as excited about my outside linebacker or end making the tackle as I would if it was me,” Grimes said.

Locklear describes Grimes playing tackle like a middle linebacker, or maybe a strong safety.

“He has such a heart, such a motor,” Locklear said. “Everything he does is 100 mph. Even if he’s on the far hash and the ball ends up on this sideline, he’s going to be running to the ball. You never have to worry if he’s giving full effort.”

Grimes will often find himself competing against bigger players with his switch to tackle. He will be asked to take on some offensive linemen who weigh 300 pounds or more, and Grimes welcomes the challenge.

“I feel confident in my speed going against somebody who outweighs me by maybe 50 or 60 pounds,” Grimes said. “I always establish myself early in the game and come off and throw a hard hit. I can have a presence on the inside even though I’m undersized for the position.”