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Son of Wisconsin Badgers offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes enters transfer portal

Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will have the opportunity to recruit his own son in the transfer portal this winter. He could provide more depth in the trenches.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will have the opportunity to recruit his own son, Greydon Grimes, in the transfer portal this winter.
Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will have the opportunity to recruit his own son, Greydon Grimes, in the transfer portal this winter. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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The family holiday gathering at Jeff Grimes' house could be a little bit awkward this year.

The Wisconsin Badgers' offensive coordinator isn't technically allowed to recruit transfer portal players until the portal officially opens in early January, but his son Greydon Grimes already announced his intention to transfer away from the Kansas Jayhawks.

They'll have to talk about non-football topics only.

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Greydon was a three-star recruit coming out of high school as a defensive end and tight end, but he switched to offensive line for the Jayhawks.

Jeff Grimes was the offensive coordinator at Kansas when he recruited his son to join the team in the Class of 2024.

The father left after one season to take the same position at Wisconsin, but Greydon stuck with the Jayhawks after redshirting his first year.

This past season, Grimes only appeared in Kansas' first game of the season, playing four snaps at right tackle in a blowout win over FCS Wagner.

Now he's entering the portal to pursue football opportunities elsewhere, and reunion with his dad on the Badgers is an obvious fit.

It might not be automatic, though.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers jump in on recruiting 5-star offensive lineman who is a freak-athlete

If Graydon Grimes wants to go somewhere to compete to start, he'll face an uphill battle at Wisconsin.

Kevin Haywood is expected to return to the starting left tackle role after tearing his ACL last season, and Emerson Mandell started 11 games at right tackle this year.

The Badgers also have five other offensive linemen from the 2025 class that all redshirted this season and will be competing for playing time in their second seasons.

And that doesn't account for other offensive linemen Wisconsin could pursue in the transfer portal.

That's not to say that Grimes couldn't win a competition, but if playing time is his priority, he could opt for a smaller school with more opportunity to see the field.

Working with his dad could be a strong enough motivation to come to Madison anyway.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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