Previewing decision day for Auburn safety target KJ Bolden

Here is a quick preview of Bolden’s commit announcement:

TIME: Saturday, Aug. 5, 6:30 p.m. CT, 7:30 p.m. ET via On3 YouTube channel

RANKING/RATING: Bolden, who is listed at 6-feet 185 pounds, is the No. 8 overall player, the No. 1 safety, and the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Bolden holds a 98.57 On3 Industry rating and a 98 rating from On3. Bolden is a 5-star plus+, meaning he is ranked a 5-star by each major recruiting industry: On3, 247, Rivals, and ESPN.

THE 411: Bolden has a public final five of Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and Ohio State. At some point, each school has had confidence that it could land him. The latest intel has pointed to three different schools the most consistently: Auburn, Florida State and Georgia.

Georgia has been the mainstay in this recruitment. The Bulldogs have been in Bolden’s recruitment since he was in 9th grade, maybe longer than that. To be fair, all five schools have been around, but Georgia has had the same staff for the most part, and has been seen as one of the top contenders for some time.

Florida State is the dream school for Bolden, he says. It is the school he grew up a fan of. The Noles have risen into the picture in the last months of this recruitment. He is high on the Noles. There is confidence with that program.

Auburn has come on strong as of late. The Tigers got the last visit for Bolden at Big Cat Weekend. Since that visit, and even before that visit, the Tigers were getting a lot of buzz. Going into the commitment, Auburn is still firmly in this recruitment.

Quotes of note

— GEORGIA:

“If I was to pick Georgia, it would be definitely because of Coach Kirby Smart. I feel like he’s going to be there for a long, long time. Me and his connection, he definitely has one of my top connections right now. I can talk to him about anything. He’s definitely a family guy, he’s always asking about my mom and stuff. We always talk about football, but he mainly talks about family and how life… and school and stuff like that is going. He’s one of those type of coaches and I like that about him.”

— FLORIDA STATE:

“Coach Mike Norvell…after Coach (Willie) Taggart got fired, he took the job, and ever since then he told me he was going to rebuild that team up. I remember when Florida State wasn’t winning how they used to be winning, and he always told me ‘just trust in us, trust in us, we’re gonna get back to the top this year,’ and my junior year they went 10-3. They had a great season and coming into this season they brought a lot of returning players back, so Coach Norvell’s definitely flipped the program back to where it’s supposed to have been at the whole time. Florida State’s got great coaches, Coach (Patrick) Surtain, Coach (Adam) Fuller, they’re all important to the guys, they all know what they’re talking about. And the way they’re going to use me, I feel like that’s a great way to use me.”

— AUBURN:

“Coach (Hugh) Freeze is probably one of my favorite coaches. He always talks about how he’s gonna rebuild Auburn, and I like that, cause the idea he has and the mindset he’s on, I feel like he could do it. Just that Ole Miss team he brought in, they beat Alabama two years in a row. I feel like he’s trying to build a type of class like that, with Laremy Tunsil and all of them boys down there, I feel like he’s trying to build a class like that. I feel like Auburn’s gonna be back on the rise very soon.”

“The visit was great, just got done meeting with Coach (Hugh) Freeze),” Bolden said. “He was just telling me how I can be a program changer and why not be different? Other schools are getting all of these big DB recruits right now and Auburn hasn’t gotten that one huge DB recruit that would take them over the board. He was like, why not come in and make history and be different than everybody else That pitch is crazy. 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.”

Why it could be Auburn/My pick

RECRUITING PREDICTION MACHINE: The RPM favors Georgia at 35.6%, Florida State is a close second at 26.3%, and then Auburn at 21.1%.

IF AUBURN LANDS HIM: It would give the Tigers commitment No. 15 in the 2024 class and a possible jump into the top 10. It would be the third 5-star commitment of the Freeze era.

WHY IT COULD BE AUBURN: Relationships with Zac Etheridge, Hugh Freeze, early playing time, playing scheme (his words), NIL, and close friends committed to Auburn.

WHY IT COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE: Georgia has always been there and is the in-state school. Florida State is the dream school and seems to keep jumping back in the picture every time it is counted out. At Ohio State, he has a close cousin on the coaching staff. Auburn was the hot team, but Georgia and Florida State were hot first and for longer.

MY PICK: Georgia. I have watched the carousel between Florida State, Auburn, and Georgia for a week now. Auburn was the pick after the Big Cat Weekend visit. Then, it was Florida State. The week before Big Cat it was Florida State. The months before that week it was Georgia. The Bulldogs made another rise late… You get the idea.

I almost picked Auburn because the Tigers are on a hot streak even if things were quiet in the days following Big Cat. I think the Tigers have real recruiting momentum. Auburn picking up Demarcus Riddick, Perry Thompson and Jalyn Crawford are undoubtedly big factors in Bolden’s recruitment. I think Hugh Freeze has taken matters into his owns hands to give it all he’s got. He has had success in doing that.

The way I see it, Auburn continued to be the school mentioned the most in the last week. No matter who the leader was perceived to be, Auburn was mentioned.

I still believed throughout the process that if Auburn were going to win this one, it would have to outlast Georgia. I still don’t see it. Riddick, Thompson, and Joseph Phillips seemed to be looking for a reason to pick Auburn when all was said and done. I feel as though Bolden has been looking for a reason to land on Georgia.

For what it’s worth, the buzz seems to be growing around Florida State right now. That may be true, but I don’t expect the changes to come to a halt with nearly a full day left. If this one has changed this much to this point, who is to say it won’t change again within the next 20 or so hours.. I don’t see the point in not making a definitive stance. My gut says Georgia.

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