Recruiting Roundup: Three-Star Tight End Gavin Grover Puts UC In Top-Three Schools; Four-Star QB Same Jones Sets Official Visit

Cincinnati landed its second 2024 commitment this week.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Apr 11, 2023 9:05 AM EDT

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CINCINNATI — The Bearcats are winding down 2023 Spring Football this week ahead of the Spring Game. There is plenty of recruiting news to get to on top of a cornerback commitment this week.

We start with UC making the top-three schools for 2024 three-star tight end Gavin Grover out of Olentangy (Ohio).

Kentucky and West Virginia are the other two contenders.

According to 247Sports, Grover is the 678th-ranked player nationally and the 28th-ranked tight end in the class. He holds 17 offers from Akron, Kentucky, Iowa State, and Michigan State.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound behemoth won't wow with his athletic potential, but he is a fundamentally sound tight end that also wreaks havoc as a defensive end.

Grover doesn't have the top gear of a four or five-star tight end. Regardless, the junior boasts trusty hands and can block well in the open field.

Moving to the transfer waters real quick, Cincinnati had Jackson State wide receiver Shane Hooks in town for a visit this past weekend.

Hooks posted his top five schools on Instagram last month: Cincinnati, Colorado Buffaloes, Texas A&M Aggies, Ole Miss Rebels, and UNLV Rebels.

The long, big target tallied 66 receptions for 775 yards and 10 touchdowns under head coach Deion Sanders last season.

Cincinnati will have to pry him away from a return to Deion, and his quarterback JSU quarterback, Shadeur Sanders. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound receiver could instantly impact a thin UC receiving room.

Hooks is a nice short-route runner that can work his length into great attacking spots in the red zone. UC's red zone execution hasn't been stellar in Spring Practice.

He can also make a defender miss in the open field and get that big frame cooking toward paydirt.

On3 has a close race between Ole Miss (53.3%) and Cincinnati (46.7%)

Moving to quarterback news, four-star target Maj Jones is taking an official visit to Cincinnati June 9-11.

He ended March with UC, Oklahoma, Penn State, and West Virginia in his final school grouping.

According to 247Sports Composite, Jones is the 371st-ranked recruit nationally and the 22nd-rated quarterback.

The Bearcats’ new staff recruited him at Louisville and offered him again in December. Jones fits the same mold as the other QBs Cincinnati is pursuing in the 2024 class. He's a burly 6-foot-1, 205-pound runner on the ground that can bruise tacklers away or get around the edge with blazing 4.56 speed.

As a passer, Jones had the typical deep ball highlights you see from every QB recruit, but he also mixed in some nice progression throws that had him read out a concept only to revert to the backside and hit the open man.

On3 has Penn State (81.8%) as a heavy favorite to land him. Cincinnati (4.9%) is third on the contender list.

Next, we have an offer to 2024 three-star quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer out of Olentangy (Ohio).

According to 247Sports, Grunkemeyer is the 55th-ranked quarterback nationally and the 36th-best recruit in Ohio.

He holds 21 offers from schools like Indiana and Northwestern.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound passer completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,649 yards and 25 TDs last season. He also ran for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Grunkemeyer is a wild card athlete that can make plenty of off-platform throws in the pocket. His speed is palpable on tape and he has some nice anticipation for making players miss in the open field.

He really thrives throwing intermediate seam routes from the pocket.

We close the Recruiting Roundup with an offer to 2024 three-star running back Jakorion Caffey out of Avon (Ohio).

According to 247Sports, Caffey is the 859th-ranked recruit nationally and the 70th-ranked running back.

He holds eight offers from schools like Kent State and Maryland.

Caffey is MAC Truck in the hole with some relentless leg power. Hit the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder high and you got problems. He does a great job of bouncing off of arm tackles.

His right-to-left cuts are deadly and Caffey has some nice ability as a pass catcher.

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