Florida figures to have one of the most talented receiving corps in the SEC, if not the country, in 2019. Leading receiver Van Jefferson opted to return for one more year instead of declaring for the NFL Draft. The trio of blue-chip wide receiver signees from the 2016 class – Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain and Josh Hammond – enter their senior seasons. The top receiver in Saturday’s Orange and Blue Debut, however, was Trevon Grimes.

Grimes, a junior who transferred from Ohio State after the 2017 season, caught four passes for a spring-game record 195 yards.

“I didn’t know… that’s amazing,” Grimes said when a reporter told him he set a record. “Glory to God. Hard work pays off.”

One part of that hard work for Grimes has been becoming a better route-runner thanks to the coaching of Billy Gonzales and Dan Mullen. Saturday, Grimes spoke more about his mental growth since arriving at Florida.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself mentally,” he said. “I’ve had to overcome a lot of barriers, a lot of things. Like I said, I didn’t really play that much my freshman season (at Ohio State). My sophomore season I was all right. I hold myself to a high expectation, so I really just had to get off a couple of mental barriers. And now that I feel like I overcame those and I’m having fun and going out there and having fun with my teammates and brothers there’s nothing that me or our team can accomplish this year.”

Grimes finished the 2018 regular season on a high note nothing five catches for 118 yards, season highs for him, against FSU. At 6-5, he’s already a height mismatch for defenders. He showed Saturday that he has the speed and route-running to be the total package at wide receiver and be part of more big plays like his 65-yard score.