Michigan State has added former North Carolina and Texas A&M cornerback Tony Grimes, via the transfer portal. Grimes announced his decision to commit to the Spartans on Sunday in a since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter).
Grimes took an official visit to Michigan State on Jan. 6. He also visited Penn State on Jan. 5.
He will play under head coach Jonathan Smith, secondary coach Blue Adams and the rest of the Spartans' staff in 2024.
Grimes was a former five-star prospect in the class of 2020 out of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. He ranked as a top-25 recruit in the nation and had nearly 40 scholarship offers to his name.
He played his first three seasons of college football with Mack Brown and North Carolina. Grimes then entered the transfer portal on Dec. 6, 2022 and he committed to Texas A&M on Dec. 22 of that year.
Grimes did not see any game action with the Aggies in 2023 due to suffering a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the entire season. He announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal for the second time in his college career on Jan. 1, 2024.
As a true freshman with the Tar Heels in 2020, he recorded 14 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and three passes defended.
He had his best season statistically as a sophomore in 2021. He posted 47 tackles, two tackles for loss and nine passes defended. Grimes followed that up with 36 tackles, seven passes defended and one forced fumble in 2022.
Throughout his three seasons with the Tar Heels, Grimes played in 37 games. He totaled 97 tackles, 19 pass break-ups and one interception during that span. He earned honorable mention All-ACC honors in 2021.
He is the ninth player to commit to Michigan State out of the transfer portal since the end of the Spartans’ 2023 season. He joins quarterback Aidan Chiles (Oregon State), tight end Jack Velling (Oregon State), interior offensive lineman Tanner Miller, quarterback Tommy Schuster (North Dakota) long snapper Kaden Schickel (James Madison), defensive end Quindarius Dunnigan (Middle Tennessee State) wide receiver TJ Sheffield (Purdue) and linebacker Jordan Turner (Wisconsin).
Grimes will have two years of eligibility remaining in his college career.
To keep up with all of Michigan State’s transfer portal activity, visit the Spartans Illustrated Transfer Portal Tracker.
