Five-star safety KJ Bolden previews his commitment
Buford (Ga.) five-star safety KJ Bolden’s recruitment has twisted, turned, changed directions and twisted again. It’s almost over.
Bolden is set to announce his decision on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on On3’s YouTube page. There are five contenders. Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia and Ohio State.
That five will be on the table when Bolden announces his decision on Saturday. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Georgia out front at the moment. The Bulldogs have a 37.7 percent chance of landing the five-star safety.
Bolden has been battling multiple thoughts in his head leading to his decision. There are a lot of factors that make each program attractive.
The trio of Georgia, Florida State and Ohio State have been interchangeable for the last few months. Bolden came away with a strong reason to pick each of those programs.
Georgia’s development and opportunity to place close to home has been big as well as head coach Kirby Smart. Florida State has been Bolden’s dream school since he was a kid.
Ohio State has a long history of developing defensive backs and his cousin, Perry Eliano is the safeties coach.
“Those three programs right there have had the best recruiting pitches to me,” Bolden said.
KJ Bolden breaks down contenders
Ohio State: “You can’t go wrong going to Ohio and playing with your family. That’s my blood cousin, so I know they’ll take care of me. They’re genuine people and they have the best branding on the market right now.”
Georgia: “It’s the in-state school. You don’t have to go far from home. You can always come to visit your parents on the weekends. All of your friends can watch the game on Saturday. You can just never go wrong choosing an in-state school. You never have to feel that homesick vibe or feeling.”
Florida State: “I feel like all my family members are all Florida State fans. Going down there and bringing my family down there and seeing me as a part of the team that we all cheer for and experience the games live is a great feeling. That would be a crazy dream come true.”
Alabama: “They’re one of my favorite contenders. Coach Nick Saban, he’s just real legendary. The way he runs the program — I feel like — is just like Buford.”
Auburn makes late push
Auburn got the last visit before his decision. This Tigers’ head coach Hugh Freeze, was the last person Bolden was talking to until his decision Bolden told Auburn Live‘s Cole Pinkston over the weekend.
“Yes sir, next Saturday, I’m excited,” Bolden said to Pinkston. “Actually he (Freeze) is the last person I am talking to. Sunday, he is the last person I am calling and then I am done talking to everybody until Saturday.”
That visit appears to have gone well. Auburn has been the new team surging for Bolden over the last week. Auburn made a strong pitch.
“That pitch is crazy,” Bolden said to Auburn Live after the visit. “Who wouldn’t want to go to a school and not want to be the man of a school? He was just telling me about how Auburn and all the fans and everyone in the building will buy into me. They would help me step by step if I came here on this journey. It would be great for sure.”
KJ Bolden’s mother trusts five-star’s decision-making process
Bolden’s mother Lakeisha Wright has a lot of trust in her son to make his decision. He hasn’t told her which school he favors at the moment.
Wright doesn’t know what is going to happen on Saturday, but she trusts it will be a good decision.
“He hasn’t said anything, we talked only briefly,” Wright said. “I think he knows his decision…There will be nervousness, but I will be joyful. It will definitely be a great moment. I’ve been waiting for it all his life…I trust him. Every time we go on a visit, we talk about different schools. We look at the pros and cons of each school. I give him my input but ultimately this is his decision. He has to be there for the next three years. We’ll say three years because we’re going to plan to go to the NFL in three years. I’m nervous that he’s not telling me because what if he doesn’t pick my school?”
Wright has a lot of respect for Ohio State. Even still, each of the five programs has winning ingredients that Wright could see helping a program land her son.
“I love Ohio State, I love what they stand for, I love the tradition there and the culture,” Wright said. “Of course I love Georgia and I love Kirby (Smart). I love T-Rob over at Alabama. I love coach Zac Etheridge and coach (Patrick) Surtain over at Florida State. His top five is the best five. He can’t go wrong.”
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