.Now that college football is at its midway point, the Georgia Bulldogs are starting to hit their stride. Part of that comes from impact freshman talent finding their footing. The biggest freshman impact of the season has to be safety KJ Bolden.
Bolden’s story is insane. According to 247Sports, He was a five-star recruit, the third-best recruit in Georgia, and the 15th highest ranked recruit in the nation. This was due to his decorated high school career at Buford High School, where he was a two-time all-state selection from Georgia. Bolden earned the Georgia Region 8-7A Defensive Player of the Year his senior year.
Bolden originally committed to playing for Florida State in 2023, but on national signing day, Georgia was able to flip him. With his talent, Georgia already has high hopes that he can start, giving him the most snaps out of any freshman so far this season.
The former Buford standout has thrived with the opportunity. In the Clemson game, he had a 74.0 PFF grade, the highest out of any true freshman safety. So far, he’s logged 19 tackles and a sack. Bolden’s an every-down player, which is otherworldly for a freshman on a national championship contending team. No other freshman, not even running back Nate Frazier, can say that. Georgia Bulldogs fans should be excited about his future with the team.
Kirby Smart has this to say about Bolden before his debut in the Clemson matchup. “He’s played more football than most seniors,” said Smart. “He’s been playing since he was 6 years old. In the heart of Atlanta, in one of the toughest leagues there is to play football. He’s played up against older kids all his life. He’s extremely athletic.”
“The moment’s not too big for KJ. He’s just very gifted athletically, but he also had great football instincts and intuition. He’s been coached by his father. He’s tough. So I think that gives him a leg up coming in just because he’s been playing football so long.”
KJ Bolden will get his next chance to play on Oct. 12 as Georgia hosts Mississippi State.
