Alabama CB Jameer Grimsley To Transfer; Florida a Team To Watch

Florida could be in a position to benefit from Nick Saban’s surprise head coaching retirement. Following an NCAA exception allowing transfer portal entry to players whose head coach has stepped away, the Crimson Tide’s floodgates have opened, with members of Alabama’s roster jumping into college free agency almost daily since Saban hung up his straw hat for good. Cornerback Jameer Grimsley, one of the Gators’ top recruiting targets in the class of 2024, became the latest with known plans to do so on Thursday. 247Sports first reported Grimsley’s imminent transfer portal entry.

A consensus four-star prospect from Tampa (Fla,) Catholic, Grimsley signed with Alabama over Florida specifically during the Early Signing Period in Dec. 2023. The two-way standout from roughly two hours south of Gainesville officially visited UF two weeks before signing with Alabama, the program he’d been committed to since July. The December visit marked Grimsely’s fourth trip to UF in 2023. He attended Florida’s season finale against Florida State in November. Grimsley expressed his appeal to aiding the Gators in their program rebuild, but at the same time stated his attraction to Saban’s job stability with the Crimson Tide, unaware of the head coach’s approaching retirement while speaking with reporters following his official visit to Florida. “The only guarantee with Bama is that Saban’s not going nowhere,” Grimsley said on Dec. 10.

Projected to play in the secondary at the next level, the 247Sports composite rankings regard Grimsley as the No. 17 cornerback and No. 189 overall prospect in the class of 2024. With two scholarship openings entering the offseason, Florida should be considered likely to circle back on one of its priority recruits from the 2024 cycle, which remains ongoing with National Signing Day being Feb. 7. Grimsley would be Florida’s third defensive back transfer pickup this offseason, should he align with the Gators, following former Oregon cornerback Trikweze Bridges and former Tulane safety DJ Douglas.

UF also signed cornerback Teddy Foster Jr. and safeties Josiah Davis and Gregory Smith III from the 2024 recruiting class in December.