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.
There were a lot of little things that led to big things regarding the KJ Bolden decision to flip from FSU to Georgia on the first day of the early signing period.
The timeline is crazy.
His Buford High teammates knew what he was going to do about three weeks ago, they said. That falls in line with what Bolden said after he made the move to flip to the nation’s top-rated singing class.
That’s when he knew as he told a few reporters at Buford High on Wednesday.
Bolden said he told his family in the morning before he made his decision public at the 1 p.m. ceremony at the school’s performing arts center. He told his mother LaKiesha Wright in her bedroom only a couple of hours before those live streams and happy Bulldog fans.
“I’m shocked,” his mother said. “I’m nervous. I don’t know what to expect. He actually just told me two hours prior to coming here.”
What was that like?
“I couldn’t say anything,” she said. “I was speechless.”
The 5-star safety said he told the Georgia staff what he planned to do right before the ceremony kicked off when he walked into that auditorium.
“They were scared,” Bolden said. “In my head, I knew they already had it. They were locked in but they were scared. They were really nervous. But last minute I told him ‘Coach I am coming’ and he was so excited.”
“I told them like right before I walked into the building. They were both on my phone like texting during the ceremony.”
There were so many visits that he needed to check out Georgia before he ultimately made the move.
He later would say that he felt he might have visited Georgia 20 times. Kirby Smart said Wednesday night that It sounded like there were some late secret visits in there.
Bolden said he felt like he was at home at Georgia. He felt like he could trust the coaches.
When he went up to Syracuse for a late official visit, it was reassuring to hear former assistant Fran Brown tell him Georgia was still the best place for him to go.
He gave “kudos” to FSU coach Mike Norvell and his staff. But he felt like himself at Georgia. He knew he could act like himself within that program.
Bolden said he could point to a future first-round draft pick at his position in Georgia rising junior Malaki Starks. He could learn from him during his true freshman season.
It mattered to him when Georgia showed its NFL track record of developing DBs. The Bulldogs had a recent first-round safety in Lewis Cine in 2022. Then there is Starks on the rise. That former 5-star stands to be picked higher than Cine was when his time likely comes with the 2025 NFL Draft.
When the Georgia coaches compared their NFL development to other schools, he felt it was no comparison. With Muschamp and Smart coaching DBs, he felt that was a chance at unparalleled development compared to his other finalists.
When he made that commitment back in August to FSU, he said the Bulldogs were in third place at that time. Smart and Muschamp had to rally back in this one.
This was NFL development over NIL dollars, he said.
“You have got to think about the long run,” Bolden said. “You know NIL money that’s like short-term money. You are only getting that money right now for the moment. The big money is really the NFL money. The league money contracts and stuff like that. I didn’t really pay the NIL that much attention. Everybody thought I was going to chase the money, but it really wasn’t about the money.”
“It was about going somewhere that I could be developed and play my best. I’m like 30 or 40 minutes from the house. How can I go wrong? For real?”
Bolden rattled off a lot of reasons. But the chance to talk to his parents Wednesday afternoon added greater clarity to what the choice was about to the Bolden family.
It also showed what it was not about.
“Oh absolutely he chose less money,” his father Kai Bolden said.
Then his father started laughing. The public perception of Bolden being a NIL recruit did not align with their reality. It did not reflect their family’s frank discussions about the decision.
How hard was it to make that choice in this new era of recruiting inducements?
“I told him, you know, if you go do what you got to do the next three years, you’re going to make your money,” his father said. “So don’t make it a money decision. You know go where your heart is. Go where you know you want to play and where you can excel. I mean, you know, it is always hard to leave some money on the table but I think his future is just way more important than that right now.”
Bolden could sign a $20 million NFL contract as a first-rounder in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Was it worth risking that for a hefty short-term payday and not getting the development he needs to get on that path?
“That’s the way I would look at it,” his father said. “And I would never force him. I always wanted him to go where he wanted to go and he chose FSU the first time. It was his choice back then and it was the same [thing] today with Georgia.”
Kai Bolden: What impressed him about his son’s decision to pick UGA
KJ and his father, Kai, have a unique relationship. I’d encourage everyone to read this DawgNation story on the Bolden family from back in August.
Bolden essentially missed his son’s entire high school career up until this spring. That’s why that signing day meant so much to them.
When KJ chose FSU back in August, his father felt that there was another choice that made a lot of sense.
“I always told him I felt like Georgia was the safest path to go play on Sunday,” his father said. “I think more so it just came down to he didn’t want to be far away from home. Do you know what I mean? He trusted that Georgia could get him ready for the league.”
This was a tough decision.
“He kind of went back and forth,” his father said. “It was FSU one day, Auburn one day and then Georgia. I think we felt pretty good about it late last night and early this morning.”
Kai Bolden was glad to see it all come full circle for his son on Wednesday. He started him off on this football journey.
“I felt he could go [to the NFL] from anywhere,” he said. “But I’m happy for him, though. The family is happy. He won’t have to travel as far. His mom and I can get to him a little quicker. I think that’s how it all worked out.”
Bolden will wear the No. 1 jersey at Georgia. That’s what has been reserved for him for him, the family said.
KJ Bolden flips to Georgia football: What a wild turn of events
Bolden’s path from choosing FSU in August to becoming a ‘Dawg in December was a wild ride. This wasn’t a plot twist most saw coming, including the faces he sits across from at the dinner table.
What would his family have said if somebody told them then that KJ would flip to the ‘Dawgs in December?
“I wouldn’t have believed it,” his father Kai said. “Because he was never as big on [Georgia] as I was. I told him don’t commit there for me. I mean he just liked other schools more than them. I almost thought he was going go to Ohio State at one point.”
His mother agreed with that. Until she saw the fruits of Georgia never letting up on the gas pedal in recruiting their son.
“No,” he said. “I just didn’t see it. What made me feel that he would probably end up at Georgia was probably sometime in November. That’s when he was on the phone with Fran Brown. He said something after that then that was like ‘Oh I’m going to go back to Georgia’ and that’s what really started it. I saw Coach Kirby [Smart] talking to him and Coach Muschamp and then Fran still keeping communication with him about going to Georgia.”
Georgia never gave up. Never. Consistency was a major key here, they all said.
Bolden looked at his son on Wednesday. It wasn’t just that sweet Quavo Huncho UGA lid he’d put on that impressed him.
“One of his best friends is going to FAMU,” Kai Bolden said. “That’s right across from Florida State and I know their connection. So for him to not want to go down there, you know it is all about business now for him.”
Wright chalked up Wednesday as one of her proudest moments for KJ. She noticed how the last few weeks had weighed heavily on her son.
“KJ would stay home at the house with me,” she said. “For the last three weeks, KJ was moping around the house. He would not go anywhere. He would come home from practice. He would come home from school and just stay in the house between his bedroom and my room. Just moping. I just knew that something was wrong. But he just never said it.”
Then he told his mother this morning he wanted to be a ‘Dawg.
“I screamed,” she said. “I cried. Screamed. I was like ‘Are you sure?’ and he said ‘Mom I am sure’ and that was it.”
Wright is very much into fashion. Her outfits always stand out. She’s now faced with outfitting her closet and wardrobe with a lot more red and black, she said.
“What my decision came down to was just the place like I felt would get me to the ultimate goal of playing in the NFL,” KJ Bolden said while reading a statement as he met the press. “It is not about the NFL or facilities for me. It is about relationships and development. I prayed with my family and with the help of my family, I’m going to start my future off with staying home. So I chose the ‘Dawgs. Go ‘Dawgs.”
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
