Lineman treats off-season seriously

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• By Richard Davenport
• 6:04AM on May 29th, 2009

Fort Smith Northside defensive lineman Jeff Grimmett saw his fair share of college coaches at his school during the spring evaluation period.
Grimmett, 6-2, 245, 5.28 saw schools like Arkansas, Southern Illinois, Utah State, Arkansas Tech and others show up to check on him. He recorded 70 tackles, 3 or 4 sacks and 19 tackles for losses last season.

“I played D-tackle, a little bit of D-end, a little bit of a blocking tight end,” Grimmett said. “But mostly D-line.

Grimmett, who said he’ll probably attend Arkansas’ senior camp July 19 and hopes to make some other camps, ran a 5.28 in the 40 yard dash at the FCA combine in April. He also recorded a 28-inch vertical and a 4.61 pro-shuttle time.

He said he’s made notable gains during the off-season workouts.

“I’ve jumped about 30 pounds in the bench and probably 30 pounds in the incline and I’ve improved my power clean along with my squat,” Grimmett said. “I feel a lot faster and athletic then I did last year. I weighed about 265 then and I weigh about 245 now.”

He said he’s bench pressing 300 pounds while his power clean is 290, squat is 450 and incline in the 255-260 range.

Grimmett hopes to translate his passion for football into a career.

“I love football so much,” Grimmett said. “It’s something I’ve always had a big passion about it so I’m thinking about becoming a teacher and being a football coach.”

He said he also has interest in mechanical engineering.