Spring Football Practice Report: Grimsley

The Whirlies return seven starters from both sides of the ball.

On offense, the Whirlies' top three weapons are back in the fold: 4-star rising senior wide receiver Alex Taylor, 4-star rising senior wide receiver Terrell Anderson, and 2,100-yard rusher Mitchell Summers. Taylor and Anderson have always looked the part and had the production, but both are showing improved smoothness in their route running. Summers had an excused absence the day I attended. Summers has a shorter stature but matches it with solid balance. His vision was already good as a sophomore and should get even better.

Much of the success of this Grimsley team will be on the shoulders of first-year starter Faizon Brandon at quarterback. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound signal caller picked up offers last summer before his freshman year even began. While he didn't start last season, the Grimsley staff made sure to get him as many snaps as possible. Brandon ended up finishing a majority of the Whirlies' contests. Brandon is the owner of a strong arm that matches his big frame and legs that make him a more than serviceable runner. With all of the tools you can ask for, everything will be about finding the consistency over these last three years at Grimsley. Future 4-star prospect.

Grimsley has a fascinating group of receiving targets in that rising sophomore class with Brandon. Kaden Catoe, a 6-foot receiver, made a number of plays. Khyan Battle is sturdy for his 5-foot-9 frame and looks like he could be a headache in the slot role for the next three years. Grimsley also has a high-upside project at tight end in 6-foot-4, 185-pound D.J. Howerton. Again, all of these guys are going to be sophomores. Their opportunity to contribute while soaking in the leadership of Taylor and Anderson puts them in a very fortunate situation.

The offensive line has three starters back: Graham Buckrham, Jamarius Matier, and Jaden Staton. Buckrham is a two-time all-conference selection at left tackle. There is another player from that Faizon Brandon class of 2026 to watch out of this group: 6-foot-3, 245-pound Nick Kashubara, who is expected to start as a sophomore. It's hard to tell how exactly an offensive line looks as a unit in these limited contact spring periods, but the staff is very high on the group. Grimsley will be without longtime center Henry Harden, who is graduating.

On defense, Grimsley has a big void left by former 4-star and current Georgia defensive tackle Jah Jarrett. However, the Whirlies have two college prospects back from last year's defensive line in the rising junior class. 6-foot-3, 240-pound edge rusher Bryce Davis is ranked as the No. 25 rising junior in the nation by 247Sports. The 4-star prospect is an elite run defender from that spot and is steadily adding to his pass rush repertoire. 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive tackle Andre Hill Jr. has the potential to be a game-wrecker. Hill looked good playing next to Jarrett last season. Senior Jahkai Eason will do a good job manning the end of the line opposite of Davis.

With leading tackler Khalil Stimpson about to graduate, Grimsley will look for his fellow linebacker Keshaun Jones to have an even bigger junior season than he had as a sophomore last year.

Grimsley should feel good about the secondary. Versatile, physical safety Jamarie Davis will be back to patrol the back end of Grimsley's defense with fellow safety Deon McLaughlin and productive corners Chris Young and Fred Sellars are also returning to counteract wide receivers.

On the coaching front, defensive line coach Norman Weeks retired after 30 years of coaching. The Whirlies have replaced him with Lee Meekins. Grimsley also added another mind to the offensive side of the ball in Clay Browning, who was at Elon for five years. He also was a grad assistant at UNC and Purdue.

Grimsley is an early favorite to make it out of the 4A West.