THI TV: 5-Star CB Tony Grimes Interview
(Full transcript below)
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – THI was on hand for the G.A.M.E. Academy prospect camp at the Virginia Beach Sports Complex on Saturday and caught up with 5-star class of 2021 cornerback Tony Grimes, who will announce his college choice on Tuesday, June 30.
Grimes discussed how he stayed sharp during the COVID-19 shutdown, the schools that comprise his final four and North Carolina, his relationship with Tar Heels assistant coach and legend Dre’ Bly and more.
The other three schools in Grimes’ final four are Ohio State, Georgia and Texas A&M.
Here is a transcript of what Grimes had to say:
Q: What do you hope to get out of being here at the camp today?
GRIMES: “Just competition and also help my young guys develop and teach them some things.”
Q: I know there was a camp a couple of weeks ago, but after three months of quarantine, is it kind of cool just to be out here with a bunch of the guys and maybe sweat a little bit?
GRIMES: “It’s good because this corona thing messed up all the camps, so this is a camp we can come out here and do, so I feel good.”
Q: What were you able to do during those three months to maybe maintain your skills or even improve your skills?
GRIMES: “Train. Just train. We’d do DB drills, I’d do a couple of pushups, I did my own lifting and stuff like that and be like that, that’s how it (was).”
Q: Did it take a while to get into a comfortable rhythm or did you get into one pretty quickly and you were good with that?
GRIMES: “I got into a rhythm pretty quickly and was really good with it.”
Q: Okay, so a lot of people are going to want me to ask about Tuesday night. Why did you move up your announcement, because it was originally going to be later in the year?
GRIMES: “I made my decision, I made my final decision.”
Q: So, you just woke up one day and realized where you wanted to go?
GRIMES: “I prayed on it, talked to my family, my parents and boom.”
Q: You’ve said in the past how important it was to have relationships with someone that will be at the school once you get there, was that the final factor in your decision?
GRIMES: “Yeah, you could say that. But the final factor was scheme and who could put me in the right scheme, the development and who can put me in the position to make plays.
Q: What are some of the things that jump out to you about UNC and the program under Mack Brown that you like a lot?
GRIMES: “Mack Brown is doing good recruiting, I’ll tell you that. He brought in a lot of good coaches, he’s also getting top players as well. Dre’ (Bly), he’s an amazing DB coach. He’s from my hometown. UNC, one day, I don’t know when, one day they’re going to win something. They’re going to go to the nat.”
Q: A lot of people are saying the Dre’ Bly factor is huge for any kid from this area. Only a few miles away, there’s Dre’ Bly Field, he’s a legend down here, so how has your relationship with him changed over the last six months to a year?
GRIMES: “I’d say, it most definitely got more stronger. We’ve communicated more. I feel like, a lot of people say that he’s got no coaching experience in college, (but) I think he’s going to be good, I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Q: The class UNC is bringing in, they already have 16 kids and it’s a top-10 class right now, how much do you know some of the other guys in the class and what do you think about the direction recruiting is going for UNC?
GRIMES: “I really don’t know them like that, but the direction of the recruiting is going real good. I tell you it’s going good because they’re landing players, so once you land players you’ve got to be doing something right.”
Q: What else is appealing to you about being a student at UNC aside from the football factor?
GRIMES: “About being a student, I’d say making friends because they’ve got a good education. If I go there, I might be in a class with like a (future) president or something like that.”
Q: Proximity, too, it’s a lot closer than the other three. Is proximity a factor at all?
GRIMES: “Nah.”