Monmouth Standout Linebacker Da'Grimes Thrilled To Be Back

WEST LONG BRANCH – With under two weeks remaining until Monmouth University plays its first football game in over 15 months, senior Da’Quan Grimes is eager to prove Monmouth’s historic 2019 season a was just a small sample of good things to come.

“It’s been like an emotional roller coaster since the Pandemic started wondering if we were ever going to play,” said Grimes. “So it’s been really exciting getting back out there knowing we’re actually going to have a game.”

Monmouth captured its first ever Big South championship in 2019 before making its second appearance in the FCS playoffs in three years. They went on to soundly defeat Holy Cross in the first round - another program first - before suffering an eye-opening defeat to No. 2 seed James Madison, which eventually lost to juggernaut North Dakota State, 28-20, in the FCS championship game and finished ranked second nationally.

“We had a great season in 2019 but we’re looking at that as just another year we’re going to build on top of,” added Grimes. “We didn’t necessarily end the 2019 season the way we wanted to but we now know what to expect on the national level. We definitely have the talent on this team to build off of what we accomplished in 2019 and take the program to the next level, that’s our expectation.”

Grimes – a standout linebacker – is in his fourth season with the Hawks after a stellar prep career at Damascus High School in Maryland.

A four-year starter at Damascus, Grimes led the Swarmin’ Hornet to a 46-4 record, including a perfect 14-0 season as a senior captain when they captured the 3A state championship and finished ranked No.1 in the state. He set the school record with 210 career tackles and was selected first team All-State as a senior when he collected 81 tackles, 20 TFL, eight sacks and one interception.

Numerous FBS schools had interest him, including Rutgers and Temple University, but at 5-foot-11 Grimes didn’t fit the ideal profile of a big school linebacker.

“I absolutely think he’s good enough to play at a Power 5 school,” said Grimes’ high school football coach Eric Wallich when asked if he thought Grimes could play at that level. “Sometimes it just comes down to measurables and they get caught up in your height and weight so if you’re not 6-foot-3, 240 you’re off the list without weighing the intangibles, which Da’Quan has a lot of.

“Da’Quan’s senior season he was captain of the team and leader of the defense. He might be the hardest hitter we ever had in my tenure at Damascus. That team will always be special to me because they’re the team that actually started our whole run.”

Damascus went on to win three state titles in a row and four in five years.

During Grimes’ recruitment Wallich reached out to Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan and said he had a player that would be a perfect fit for the Hawks. And as fate would have it, Grimes fell in love with Monmouth University on his official visit to the school and shortly after signed a letter on intent to come play for Callahan and the Hawks.

“Damascus is a program that we have a lot of familiarity with,” said Callahan. “So when they recommended Da’Quan to us we knew we were getting solid information and once we got a chance to watch him on film we knew we were getting a very good player.”

However, it’s the backstory of Grimes’ path to Monmouth that transcends anything he’s ever done on the football field and he carries it like a badge of honor.

“Growing up Da’Quan didn’t have it easy, he had a lot of challenges with a tough family situation and could’ve easily turned the wrong way and made bad life choices,” said Wallich. “He had every excuse you could think of but he never used any of it. “He’s the classic case of, “It takes a village to raise a child.” And it’s never been more fitting than for him. He had such a great support system in the community with many, many families, coaches and teachers watching after him and he really thrived having that support system.

“Through it all, Da’Quan always got good grades, was hard working, super respectful and the teachers loved him. Now he’s made something of his life; he’s just an amazing person.”

Grimes doesn’t take anything for granted and is forever acknowledging all the love and support he received growing up by trying to be the best person he can be because as he puts it, “I don’t want people to feel they wasted love on me.”

His sincerity is genuinely defined by his actions.

“I truly feel blessed to have the support system that I do,” Grimes added. “Growing up wasn’t necessarily ideal at all times for me but I was fortunate enough to have my entire community looking to help me out. It was great to have Damascus in my background, I was blessed to grow up there. I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up anywhere else.”

Grimes’ career at Monmouth was slowed by two knee surgeries that kept on the sidelines his first two seasons. Finally healthy his junior year, Grimes won the starting weakside linebacker job and was leading the team in tackles when he injured his knee again in the fifth game.

He missed two games with the injury but returned for the final four games of the season albeit not 100 percent. He finished with 45 tackles (24 solo) – 20th in the Big South – and 3.5 TFL.

“I think there was a time where he was not only disappointed but discouraged as well,” said Callahan. “It was one thing after another and 2019 was probably the first year he was actually 100 percent healthy from start to finish and I think what we saw on the field was a product of him being healthy. We always knew he had great instincts as a defensive football player with the ability to be very disruptive but the injuries kept holding him back. He started doing some good things in 2018 then in 2019 he really showed a lot of what he could do and we’re hoping for more of the same. You can tell there’s a difference when he’s on the field and when he’s not.”

Grimes established himself as one of the top linebackers in the Big South in 2019 earning second team All-Big South honors after his breakout season. He finished third in the Big South with 115 tackles, fifth in TFL with 13.5 and tied for first with three forced fumbles along with three QB hurries while defending six passes. He was a two time Big South Defensive Player of the Week and in the biggest game of his career up to that point against James Madison he recorded 18 tackles. Entering this season, he was a unanimous Big South Preseason first team selection.

“I wasn’t surprised at all because he’s such an amazing player,” Wallich said when asked about Grimes 2019 season. “I knew as soon as he was healthy he would thrive there. It’s not just his ability either, he’s a super smart player and honestly his mind is one of his best attributes.”

Monmouth normally selects permanent team captains for the season but will go with game captains for the spring and elect permanent captains for the fall of 2021.

“DaQuan is definitely captain material,” said Callahan. “He’s the leader of our defense. He’s a leader in the locker room and he’s a leader in everything he does.”

“He’s absolutely one of my favorites I’ve ever coached,” said Wallich. “I’m still super close to him and we still communicate and get together when he comes home. I think the world of him and he’s become the man you would want anybody to be.”

The Hawks will travel to former NEC rival and first-year Big South member Robert Morris on Saturday March 13 for their season opener.

“He’s absolutely one of my favorites I’ve ever coached,” said Wallich. “I’m still super close to him and we still communicate and get together when he comes home. I think the world of him and he’s become the man you would want anybody to be.”

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