Published Nov 28, 2024
Jeff Grimes on returning back to Baylor, Dave Aranda’s defense
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Sam Winton  •  JayhawkSlant
Staff Writer
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@sam_winton2

Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will coach against his former school when Kansas takes on Baylor on Saturday. Grimes talked about what it will be like to be back in Waco, his relationship with former Baylor commit Calvin Clements, and what he’s seen from the Bears' defense.


Returning to Baylor will be unique and emotional

Grimes has returned to former coaching stops before, such as Kansas’ trip to BYU earlier this season. However, this trip will be different because Grimes just left Baylor this past offseason and his son Garrison is on the Bears’ roster. He said he thinks he’ll be able to go on the field for Baylor’s senior day festivities.

“It will be unique,” Grimes said. “My son being on the team, knowing a good bit of the coaching staff, all the players, basically it'll be an emotional day. Senior Day for my son and so that'll be unique for me being there as a dad. And I don't know, [they’ll] probably boo me when I go out for my son's introduction. But, you know, once the game kicks off, it's a football game.”

On the football field, Baylor is different enough from last year’s team where the familiarity shouldn’t make the difference in the game. However, Grimes said it may help a little bit.

“There are some new characters. Some guys who are transfers and then some guys who maybe weren't playing as much last year that are playing more now,” Grimes said. “Every year a player is a different player. So yeah, I think it helps, but that's not going to be the difference in the game.”

Calvin Clements making good progress in his second season

Clements was originally committed to Baylor and recruited by Grimes. He said Clements’ size made a big first impression and he was at first disappointed when the Lawrence native flipped his commitment to play for the hometown team.

“I remember I couldn't believe how big he was when I first met him,” Grimes said. “Not a lot of people make me feel small, but he does. Just what a great kid he is, what a great family. [I] was really disappointed when he chose to come to Kansas and then when I ended up here, certainly glad to see him and he's made good progress this season. I'm proud of where he's headed.”

Clements got injured during spring practice but has battled his way into the offensive line rotation this season. He’s listed as the starter at left tackle this week after Logan Brown went down with an injury against Colorado. Grimes said Clements has made a lot of progress and thought he had a chance to make an impact at the beginning of the season.

“There's been progress from the beginning of the season, both in his comfort level with just feeling strong again, but also just playing for the first time, really playing at this level,” Grimes said. “But yeah, I felt like he would [be ready to play].”

Baylor’s defense full of Dave Aranda’s impact

Grimes has a lot of familiarity with the Baylor head coach, as he’s competed for and against Dave Aranda throughout his career. Aranda has a defensive coordinator background and has influenced the way the Bears are playing defense.

“Just the consistency in alignments, knowledge of the scheme, players being in the right place at the right time, understanding their responsibilities, playing with really sound techniques,” Grimes said. “But there are also some things that are different. The way he plays, certain personnel groupings and formations are different.”

Grimes said Aranda’s defense has become more versatile and is switching up looks often, even on base downs.

“He's certainly added more to his package more versatile, more variety, I guess you would say, in what you see in particular from his fronts and the stunts and pressures that you're getting on base downs from third downs,” Grimes said. “He's always been a guy that was going to be exotic and change what looks you got from week to week. And so, you kind of know that. But he's doing more on base downs than he has before.”