One Last Run - Chapter 3 | And so it begins

With one season remaining and just one credit hour on his class schedule this semester, the time has arrived for Kansas wideout Luke Grimm to pour everything he’s got into his final season of KU football.

As he does, we’ll follow him every step of the way in our latest weekly diary that will chronicle Grimm’s 2024 season.

Some of what you’ll read here, in Grimm’s own words, will focus on the stuff happening between the lines — big wins, memorable catches and the grind of the season. But a lot of it will focus on Grimm the person, a 23-year-old senior (he turned 23 on Aug. 8) who has given everything he has to the program and seen it pay off in a big way.

The Grimm File

Age: 23 | Height: 6-0 | Weight: 190 | Position: Wide Receiver

Hometown: Raymore, Mo. | High School: Raymore-Peculiar High

Notable: Last season, Grimm became the 16th Jayhawk to reach the 100-catch mark for his career... The senior wideout enters the 2024 season with 126 career receptions, putting him within striking distance of climbing into 4th place (155) on KU's all-time receiving chart and with an outside shot at cracking the top 3 (214 and 219)... He also is less than 300 yards away from reaching the top 5 on KU's receiving yards list... Dubbed "The Grimm Reaper" early in his career, Grimm appeared in 6 games as a true freshman and has finished each of the past three seasons in the top four in receptions, including leading the team in 2022 and finishing second last season... A 3-star recruit by Rivals.com, 247 Sports & ESPN, Grimm was ranked as the No. 7 wide receiver in the state of Missouri by Max Preps in the 2020 class.

With his team holding massive goals for the 2024 season and the excitement surrounding Kansas football at an all-time high, Grimm is grinning from ear to ear about the potential for his final run with the Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks, who looked locked in and ready to roll all week, opened the season with on Thursday night, with a 48-3 win over Lindenwood at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, and that's where we'll pick up with Chapter 3 of "One Last Run."

In the first game of his senior season, Grimm was one of the stars of the show, catching six balls for 111 yards and a touchdown – a 58-yard bomb from Jalon Daniels, which hit Grimm in perfect stride behind the LU defense.

By night's end, he had moved into 7th place on KU's all-time receiving list, with plenty of time — and big plans — to keep climbing.

Like most things during the past month or so, the week moved fast in Grimm's eyes. Particularly with the opener being played on a Thursday, two days earlier than most normal KU kickoffs.

That forced the Jayhawks to move everything up a couple of days. Their first true game-week practice came on the Saturday before. Sunday's practice was what they normally would do on Tuesday and their long day, which is normally Wednesday, came on Monday.

"It was definitely a weird week. It was a little lackadaisical to start, but at the second practice, it was like, everybody’s ready. The movement, people were going at it, it was really starting to show that everybody was so excited."

Monday's longer session went by particularly quick.

"It just flew by. It was like, ‘We’re done?’ I think we had 20 periods and the first time I looked up it was like period 18."

One thing that didn't move as fast as Grimm would've liked was game day.

"I was talking to (KU OC) Coach (Jeff) Grimes at breakfast, it was 9:00, 9:15, and I was like, ‘Man, I wish the game was at 11:00 so we’d be warming up right now and could play.’”

After finishing his food, a 30-minute nap helped speed things up and, from there, Grimm said it felt like he snapped his fingers and found himself on the field warming up.

While a lot of his pregame routine was the same as always — he first went out with the returners to field punts and then got into his pregame receiver stuff — there was one major difference during the time in the locker room when former KU safety Kenny Logan Jr., normally addressed the team.

"This year, I'm in Kenny's spot."

Logan was in attendance at Thursday's game, and when it was suggested that Logan might've gone back into the locker room and handled his own pregame speech anyway, Grimm smiled.

"I wish he would've. That would've been nice."

Grimm's message during those short-and-sweet moments?

"I was like, 'We’ve only got 11 more of these guaranteed, let's make the most of each one.'"

For Grimm, the performance on opening night was the payoff from months of hard work and sacrifice leading up to it.

"I came into this game with the mindset of everything I did over the offseason and through winter workouts, spring and summer, I didn’t do it to just have a mediocre season. I didn’t do it to be an average wide receiver. I did it because I wanted to separate myself from every wide receiver in college football and to help this team as much as I can."

Luke Grimm, left, celebrates his opening-night touchdown with teammate Quentin Skinner at Children's Mercy Park in KCK. [Chance Parker photo]

One of the more important people associated with the team was energized by Grimm's 2024 debut.

"GOOD JOB, LUKE GRIMM," Kansas coach Lance Leipold roared while walking past Grimm outside of the locker room during this interview.

"Thanks, Coach Leipold," Grimm said with a heavy dose of humility.

Leipold's wife, Kelly, was walking with her husband and referenced Grimm's fresh, game-day haircut while adding, "Good job, Luke. I was impressed. It’s that lighter hair."

"Yeah, I shaved it off and got faster!”

Grimm's speed, particularly on that deep-ball TD, was only part of what stood out in the opener. He was crisp with his routes, tough to tackle, got upfield after the catch and caught nearly everything thrown his way.

“It was a good Game 1. I’m pleased with it. There are obviously things I can work on. I should’ve caught the first ball. I could’ve got that, and I want to get every ball that comes to me.”

Luke Grimm during pregame warmups before the KU season opener. [Chance Parker photo]

The drop Grimm referenced came in the first quarter, when he couldn't come down with a ball thrown on the outside near the end zone, but also right in the path of the sun shining onto the field from the west.

So, did the sun play a role in the drop?

"No, that was on me. The sun, it was there, but if I want to be as good as I want to be, nothing can be an excuse."

"We work on those things. (Assistant WR) Coach Copeland says, ‘Catch the dot.’ It’s not like the football’s gone. It’s still there, it’s just a dot. Track the dot and catch the dot.”