LSU’s Jeff Grimes Replaces Ty Detmer As Offensive Coordinator; BYU Fans, Players And Alumni React

By
Justin Giles
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It’s official. After word spread Wednesday night that LSU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes had accepted the offensive coordinator position, BYU made it official Thursday morning.

Former BYU players, including star tight end Chad Lewis, couldn’t wait to share the news either as a number of players went to social media Wednesday night to express their excitement that the former BYU offensive line coach (2004-06) was coming back to Provo.

So who is Grimes and just how good is he? Consider the examples below.

Sete Aulai, a junior college transfer in 2004 and who had offers from some of the top schools in the country in USC, UCLA, Oregon and Wisconsin, said Grimes was instrumental and a big reason why he chose to come to Provo.

“To be honest, when I first heard about it, I didn’t believe it,” Aulai told the Deseret News. “I think it is great. I had a great time with coach Grimes. He played a critical role in me coming here. He and I related pretty well because I was not LDS and he is not LDS and that played a big part of me coming to BYU.”

No matter where he goes, Grimes continues to leave places better than he found them. Before he was hired at LSU, the Tigers, with all the SEC talent, had just two offensive lineman drafted over a seven-year period. However, since his time at LSU, Grimes has already had four players drafted with three offensive lineman expected to be drafted in the upcoming 2018 NFL draft.

Former players, including Jake Kuresa and Terence Brown who played on the offensive line during Grimes’ time at BYU shared their thoughts on Twitter.

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As Fan Insider first reported, Grimes was BYU’s first choice due to his experience coaching at many P5 programs over the past decade as well as his strict discipline approach.

During his three years as the offensive line coach at BYU, Grimes helped the Cougars ranked No. 5 in total offense (465.5 ypg) and scoring offense (36.8 ppg) in 2006, and No. 13 in total offense (462.4 ypg) and No. 24 in scoring offense (33.0 ppg) in 2005.

Here is what Grimes had to say about coming back to BYU:

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to work, once again, at BYU. It is a special place, filled with extraordinary people and a rich football tradition,” Grimes said. “I want to say thank you to President Worthen, Vice President Richardson, Tom Holmoe, and Coach Sitake for having faith in me and granting me this opportunity. I recognize that with this position comes a great deal of responsibility to all of Cougar Nation. I not only welcome this, but consider it a privilege. My family and I are looking forward to returning to Utah and are ripe with anticipation for many great Saturdays in the fall in LaVell Edwards Stadium.” — Jeff Grimes

Here is how fans, current players and alumni reacted to the news:

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