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KJ Bolden: Why the 5-star safety chose ‘less money’ on the table to flip to Georgia football
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KJ Bolden: Why the 5-star safety chose ‘less money’ on the table to flip to Georgia football
This Sentell’s Intel rep has the latest with 5-star safety KJ Bolden of Buford High School and his final college decision on the first day of the early signing period. He’s the nation’s No. 1 safety and No. 14 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite. Bolden is the No. 1 safety and the No. 13 prospect for the On3 Industry Ranking.
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Nice, got to love it. GO DAWGS!
If you had told me a week ago I could have Carson Beck back for another year & flip KJ Bolden from FAU but it was going tp cost me Dylan Raiola, I'd have taken that deal without a second thought...
Coach Fran Brown is a good man! For him, as the head coach at Syracuse, to tell KJ Georgia was the best place for him shows his character. The world needs more coaches like Coach Brown. I pulling for him to do well at Syracuse
Singing class again? Hey, the signing class had me singing, so it doesn’t matter. 🙂 Go Dawgs!
Bolden was committed to FSU.
I understand that players want to go to the NFL, but Bolden seems like he has no feelings for Georgia, that he literally sees it as a stepping stone to what he really wants. In a way, I understand that, but it also worries me. At some point, he could transfer out to go to another school if he wants - and if he doesn't really love the school or have an emotional tie to it, he might just do that - similar to the way JDJ just up and went to Kentucky through the portal with no warning. I hope I am wrong - maybe he will develop some strong relationships that will keep him a dawg until he is draft eligible.
I agree with your take on this. Your right there are valid concerns. Although he is obviously blessed athletically, one must wonder about his maturity. And his ability to handle responsibility on and off the field of play.
Purely from what his potential athletic skills and abilities are I’m glad he signed with UGA. But I’m concerned about his relationships to coaches and fellow players. If and I sure Hope not, he proves to be toxic in the locker room then that More than voids what he brings athletically.
Just gotta have faith in Kirby and his staff to be able to nurture him, guide him, discipline him if and when needed and help him develop as a young Man, not just a player.
With the CFB landscape as it has developed into, we’re gonna have numerous players over the coming weeks, months, years that we as fans will have to cross our fingers and hope and pray will buy into the culture at UGA. Kirby and staff are gonna have to work even harder to avoid imploding from within. I think if any coaching staff Can take a guy in and mold and shape him in a Positive way, it’d be Kirby and staff.
My Family and I agree with you, 100%. Brown, Lanning, Pittman, Beamer, etc....All, good men with integrity....[as are the ones currently "on-staff"]. People you can trust to do the right thing...even when they don't have to.
That's why players trust UGA Coaches. Word gets around, pretty quick in these days of the smartphone, internet, recruiting services, lawyers & agents.
And, HS Players are well aware, of the "type of person" & commitment Kirby Smart demands, which apparently Raiola couldn't live with. Unless, he's planning to transfer back in a year or 2. If that's the case [plan], neither Raiola or Smart...or anyone associated...can reveal "THAT" plan. Lol
That's why I say...These days(?)...Players shouldn't, whistle past grave yards or burn their bridges...and Fans shouldn't trample on graves and spit on corpses. Everything, could come full circle, and you'll be feeding each other a lot of "crow". Crow's nasty. Lol
Interesting that those very words..."trust the coaches"...were spoken by Stetson Bennett in an interview 2 years ago, when asked by a reporter, if he would return to UGA for the '22 season. He was roasted by some [@MikeGriffith ]..."as if".......As if questioning what a coach [grownup] tells you, is unacceptable.
"How dare he [Bennett] question such a thing. Who does he think he is?"...They would whisper in blogs.
Lol...granted, the timing wasn't great...but, Bennett didn't set up the interview. So...there's that. Fans can be ruthless...but, they can't afford to be unforgiving. Not anymore...Lol.
Now, I hear those words..."trust the coaches"...coming out of the mouths of many HS Recruits and "Portal Pirates". I am curious, though...when they say that...what are their concerns, regarding "trust". Trust em to do what?
What does a "Coaching Staff, you can't trust", look like...[WRT a recruit's concerns]. Is there more than 1 or 2 examples....or is there a rash of "Student-Athletes getting screwed over", that I haven't heard about? And, how are they getting screwed?
Inquiring minds want to know...what do they mean, when they say..."if I can trust the coaches"?. Lol
All true...but worth the risk, in my opinion. Especially nowadays,....when coaches can "cut scholarship players" [like Deion Sanders did]...and send em packin' if they can't "toe the line" and meld with the rest of the team.
I really don't get the sense, that this kid is like that. I think he's sincere...and, he made a decision, I'm not sure I could've made at his age. Taking the "Education and Training"...over money.
I'm not sure I believe that was the whole reason, though. I believe, the CFP...[locking an undefeated ACC Team out of the playoff over a QB (BS)]...basically put the final nail in the ACC's coffin. Not just for Bolden...but, all Blue Chip Athletes, going forword.
Word spreads thru recruiting circles, fast as lightning, these days. And, the word on FSU, MIA, Clemson,...[basically the entire ACC], after the CFP Committee dropped FSU/ACC out of Natty contention...is, that it's a dead-end, second tier Conference, one notch above the lowly PAC12.
One of the first things out of Bolden's mouth was that he wanted to compete for Championships, while growing and learning, in a place that feels like home. Or...was that Humphreys that said that?. Hell....I think they all said it in one way or another.
The point is...if you are a 5-star Blue Chip athlete...and, you're lookin' to fatten your wallet, get some publicity and create "a personal brand", in the CFP, while you're playing CFB....you are at a clear disadvantage, playing for an ACC Team,, as witnessed, this year.
Before 2023...if you had told an FSU prospect [or anybody else] that he would go undefeated at FSU, win the ACC Championship and miss the playoffs to 2 teams the lost a regular season game..."because" his QB would go down in week 11...he would've laughed in your face. Now what?
IMO...In todays CFB atmosphere...Ya can't repair the damage done by the CFPC. It set the ACC back 45 years and may have been the "death blow" to such struggling Programs as Clemson, Miami, FSU and Notre Dame...among others...as far as recruiting top classes and Blue Chip athletes.
like Kirby said, when UGA played FLA in 2021..."you can't out-scheme good football players". It's all about the players and the ACC is now....."out of the loop".
KJ is my hero this morning. KJ is Georgia, born and grew up in the state. Georgia provides a LOT of elite high school football players to college football. For whatever reason, though, a majority of these elite players elect to go to unversities out of state. Most of them are inferior to UGA, which is the state flagship univesity and oldest public university in the nation. The academics are first class, the town of Athens is off the charts, and our athletic programs are the very best. We have the best football program in nation, with the univesity leadership giving it full financial support and with the best coaching staff in the nation to develop these players into NFL stars with seven and eight figure checking accounts. My hat's off to KJ. He is true blue to his home, Georgia. He will play with the G on his helmet, representing his home. He will graduate with a valuable degree and will be developed to the zenith of his God-given potential. Thanks for making such a wonderful decision, KJ. I can't wait to see you on the field at Sanford Stadium as we cheer for the Red and Black and our beloved Georgia.
Yep. Agree. And in a short summary, Bolden made a Great decision, Raiola made a Terrible decision. When referring to the word Decision I’m saying in terms of enhancing NFL draft stock.
Actually, Navy...I'm startin' to think, Raiola did the best thing for Raiola...and, in the long run...the best thing for UGA, too.
He could be back...is all I'm sayin'. So, God Bless.
Oh I’m sure he Thinks he made a good decision. And if he doesn’t really care about the NFL and making More money it just might be a good decision. He will be around people he’s related to and probably allot of friends as well. Those are things that go beyond money. I get that.
But Nebraska is a dead end street. And even if he’s the best QB to ever fling a football it’s gonna take Allot more to turn that program around than just him. If he stays there he will fade into obscurity, IF he stays there. If he leaves after two years those will be two years pretty much wasted in my view.
I’m thinking his Uncle was/is the primary reason for his flip. Uncle is currently the O line Coach. So by getting the kid to flip he put a Really nice feather in his coaching hat reeling in the #1 QB. Ambitions of being the OC or maybe even the HC later on ?? That’s a nice feather to display.
Now I Do figure that the kid will give them two maybe even three more wins per season than before. That’s Allot for them. That’ll get Em in the Freddie’s Pawn Shop Bowl every year. But in the end he withdrew from an Elite program to go to a dead end street program.
He probably got a Nice NIL offer, and Uncle whispering in his ear about how he can follow in his Father’s footsteps. That’s an admirable and noble thing most of the time. I’m kind of but not really surprised with his Daddy. Looks like he’d have told him “ Son I’m honored that you want to follow in my footsteps, but the Reality is UGA is an Elite program, you’ll be taught how to play the Best against the Best there, here at good ole Corn Huskers U we’re living off glory from 30+ years ago. “ You better stay at UGA.
But I get the sense that Daddy is a Big Man there and a Proud Man, so him an old Unc persuaded the kid to come there, in large part for THEIR dreams and ambitions. I mean the kid was solid Dawg right up to the last second !! If what I’m saying has any accuracy at all, Uncle & Daddy ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Lastly the kid didn’t just decide to withdraw from UGA, he felt the need to throw in a snub As he was leaving !! A snub when only a short time before that he was saying that UGA was the best thing since cornbread and buttermilk !! I’m thinking dear ole Dad and Uncle played a partial role in the snub. I could be Very wrong about All of this, sure wouldn’t be the first time. It’ll work out better for UGA on their end than it will on his end. Just my thoughts………
@BigDawg61 Oh and meant to say if it ends up the ole spin cycle and after two years he’s back at UGA. Nah I wouldn’t snub him. We’re All entitled to make mistakes, I’ve made countless myself !!
I just get a feeling that family pressured him but did it in a way where it wouldn’t Look like pressure.Yeah the nickname for the Transfer Portal might become Spin Cycle Lol !! Cause over time we’re gonna see Allot of guys coming and going.
Like someone else posted it’ll become harder to have a “Favorite Player or Players” as they’ll be going in and out and round about we’ll be doing good just to keep up with their names !!
Folks like me and you and those our age or older and some only a little younger would have never dreamed. we’d see this in CFB !! But here we are !! Wonder what measurements our first Defensive LineWoman will be ?? 😬
I guess...when it comes to kids that age...I'm used to it. Lol...they don't know what they want from one day to the next...much less one year to the next.
I can't say....'I wouldn't have done the same thing'...in this business/football environment. Business is business and "conditional commitments", are part of the negotiating process. It's "The Art of the Deal, baby!"...Lol
I'm not shocked. Let's put it that way. And, if you notice that seems to be an echoing recruiting theme around the league WRT commit/decommit/commit...moreso now, than in the past...IMO. it's part of the process, now.
Nothing we can do...but...Embrace every one of the players that don a Bullgog Jersey.
I'm over it. Lol...just tell me who made the team in August.
I think we are better off without him. Here's why...
Gunnar has been in the program for 2 years and he knows the offense. After next year (assuming Beck stays healthy and wins us a NC) he will have 3. He will know the offense in and out and gives us 2 years to run it.
Gunnar gives us the qualities of Stetson Bennett's scrambling and the accuracy and throwing of Beck. Plus he will have the offense mastered.
This should give us a huge advantage over other teams.
Actually, I think Gunner may be better than the "lot" of em. And, I liked more about Puglisi, than Raiola....so, IMO...the Dawgs are "set" at QB.
UGA may have the most talented, and deepest, QB room they ever had. The "talent and IQ" are there...it just needs more experience and playing time. In my estimation, all 3 QB's will be playing on Sundays one day barring something unforeseeable.
Bottom line...Raiola possibly had the "Wrong Stuff" for Kirby and his Program. It was a very public break-up...that both Parties would like everyone to believe, "was mutual". The only think is...Kirby barely registered a frown. Which leads me to believe he picked Puglisi over Raiola's considerations.
So...IMO...Everything worked out for the best, all the way around. I don't see it as a "loss" for UGA...I see it as a loss for Raiola...and, "possibly a "long run win" for Kirby's Program. The only people I hear saying it's a loss for UGA are the talking heads that don't really know anything worth hearing. Lol