Michigan State football lands former 5-star DB transfer Tony Grimes

Michigan State football landed former five-star defensive back Tony Grimes from Texas A&M on Sunday evening.

Jonathan Smith strikes again. This time in the form of a former five-star defensive back Tony Grimes who was on a visit to check out Michigan State football which began Jan. 6 and he has now already committed to come play in East Lansing.

BREAKING: #MichiganState lands transfer CB Tony Grimes over #PennState.

Grimes was a standout corner at UNC for 3 seasons & spent this past year at TAMU.

The former Five-Star recruit had 97 tackles, 20 PBUs, and an INT at North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/d5CWRWPEZe

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) January 7, 2024

Impact of Grimes’ commitment

This commitment is massive for the Michigan State football program. I’d even put this up there with Aidan Chiles committing to MSU. Five-stars usually don’t come to MSU, but for Grimes to choose to visit and commit this fast is spectacular.

Grimes will make an impact in the secondary the second he arrives on campus. I never like to guarantee someone will be a starter, especially since Grimes is coming off an injury, but he will compete for a starting job immediately.

Out of high school, Grimes was a five-star recruit from Virginia Beach, Va. In the class of 2020, he was the No. 28 ranked player overall and No. 3 at his position. I honestly can’t remember the last time we got someone ranked this high with this much potential.

My favorite part of winning this recruitment is the impact it could have on other recruits. I talk a lot about the “domino effect” in college recruiting. This means that when one extremely talented player commits to a school it increases the chance of more talented players following. Good players like to play with other good players, that’s why teams like Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State are always at the top of college football.

When Chiles committed to MSU back in December, I predicted this domino effect might happen. Now I’m not sure if Aidan’s commitment impacted Grimes’ decision at all or not, but the domino effect appears to be in full effect.

Grimes’ career summary

Tony Grimes committed to North Carolina out of high school where he played three seasons. During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, Grimes totaled 97 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. He also added a forced fumble, sack, and interception as well.

After the 2022 season he entered the transfer portal and committed to Texas A&M. He unfortunately never saw the field this past season as he suffered a lower-body injury before the year began.

Grimes then entered the portal again, visited MSU, and committed one day after the visit began. Transfer recruitments always happen faster than in high school, but this one was still abnormally fast. All this tells me is that Grimes loved what he saw from Smith, the staff, and the program and really wants to be here.

Grimes showed this in an interview with 247Sports about his commitment by saying, “The vibe of what I was looking for was a personable coaching staff. I love the coaching staff. They care about you. Not just on the field as an athlete. A lot of these coaching staffs don’t care about the player off the field. They only care about what is on the field. This coaching staff here I feel is more personable, more love, more family-based program.”

Tony will have two seasons of eligibility left. I’m a little concerned for his health considering he did not play at all last season, but I’d like to think Jonathan Smith wouldn’t recruit someone if he wasn’t healthy and able to contribute.

Michigan State football is once again on the rise, and I am more excited than ever to see where the program goes.