Vols are in the mix for Reggie Grimes — an Alabama legacy and the top ranked player in the state of Tennessee for 2020

Part of Tennessee getting “back” meaning locking down the borders of the home state. Tennessee has seen an uptick in overall talent in the past few years, but they haven’t been able to keep those top prospects home. Cade Mays, Amari Rodgers, Tee Higgins are just a few of the names that come to mind over the last few years.

The state of Tennessee has six players in the current top 100 for 2020, headlined by Reggie Grimes out of Mount Juliet. Grimes is the 23rd ranked player in the 247 Sports Composite right now, making him a five-star prospect for this cycle.

On Christmas day, Grimes released a loose top ten list, noting that it is subject to change depending on future offers. That’s usually the case this far out anyways. Still, it’s a snapshot of where things stand in his recruitment.

Grimes visited Tennessee during the spring game last year, checking out the new coaching staff. He received his Tennessee offer from Butch Jones in the summer of 2017. Grimes saw Tennessee again in June this year, then visited during the ETSU game.

The obvious connection for Grimes is to Alabama. His father played at Alabama, making the Tide early favorites to land Grimes. In fact, Alabama has received three crystal ball projections already.

The 6-3, 220 pound pass rusher comes in at a big time position of need for Tennessee though, who once again can sell playing time over Alabama. Darrell Taylor has one final season left, but it’s pretty open behind him for now.

Keeping Grimes in the state would be a huge pull, but we’ve seen Pruitt and his staff work some magic before. This is one to keep an eye on this year.