KANSAS

Kansas Jayhawks Receiver Makes Strong Case for Best Hands in College Football

Jayhawks senior continues to showcase why he's one of the most underrated playmakers in college football.

Rich Cirminiello

Sep 21, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Luke Grimm (11) catches a pass and runs for a touchhdown during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Luke Grimm (11) catches a pass and runs for a touchhdown during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images / Ben Queen-Imagn Images
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Kansas Jayhawks fans have known for years that fifth-year senior WR Luke Grimm had some of the surest hands in all of college football. Now, there's actual data to back it up.

The Grimm Reaper, a particularly apt moniker this time of year, leads the FBS in most targets without a drop, according to data analytics company Pro Football Focus.

Grimm is 6-0 and 190 pounds so he was never going to be the biggest receiver on the roster or have the largest catch-radius.

But from shortly after he arrived from Raymore-Peculiar High School in Missouri, he was the guy out of the slot Kansas quarterbacks could count on to make plays with consistency.

And when a ball was a little off target, No. 11 has always been capable of turning it into a reception.

In almost five seasons of work in Lawrence, Grimm has caught 164 passes for 2,211 yards and 22 TDs. This year, he also rushed for a score in the West Virginia game.

He's a quarterback's best friend as a slot receiver and the kind of steady, move-the-chains target who's going to get a chance to continue playing on Sundays in 2025.

Grimm and the Jayhawks have a bye this weekend before hosting No. 11 Iowa State on Nov. 9.

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Rich Cirminiello
RICH CIRMINIELLO

I've been the VP of College Awards for the Maxwell Football Club since 2008. I oversee and manage all aspects of the Maxwell Award (CFB Player of the Year), Bednarik Award (Defensive POY) and Munger Award (CFB Coach of the Year), including creating watch lists, steering the selection committee and choosing players of the week. I appear weekly on SportsGrid TV to discuss college football, both as a guest and a co-host of various live shows. I oversee and manage two additional college awards, outside the purview of the Maxwell Football Club - former Seattle Seahawk RB Shaun Alexander's Freshman of the Year Award & the Buddy Teevens Award, which was created by Peyton Manning, Archie Manning and Omaha Productions in honor of the late Dartmouth coach. I'm contracted out each May by Phil Steele to help edit the magazine and write select articles leading up to the publication of his annual College Football Preview in June.

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