Sometimes the recruitment process ends up like a one-score game in the fourth quarter – the end result is never certain at any point until it’s already over. The most dramatic example we witnessed last year was the 11th-hour switch by Cormani McClain, flipping his commitment from Miami to Colorado.
While it’s not quite the blockbuster McClain’s competition was, another elite DB prospect is now seeing his recruitment go down to the wire, too.
According to John Garcia Jr. at Rivals, Georgia, Florida State and Auburn all have a shot at landing Buford (Ga.) five-star safety KJ Bolden with only one day before his announcement on Saturday night.
Buford safety KJ Bolden at practice on July 24, 2023. (USA TODAY Network)
“What’s more rare than the industry having a strong idea, is the fact that there are three programs seemingly with a shot just 36 hours before the announcement. In-state Georgia has long been the favorite to keep Bolden home, but about a month ago a trip to Florida State started to shift some conversation and last weekend’s trip to Auburn seems to have made a similar impact. Each school has a reason to be confident down the stretch, too.”
Bolden (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) has gotten offers from 40 programs altogether, but Garcia calls Georgia the safe bet. 247Sports is also projecting that the Bulldogs will get his commitment. Meanwhile, the On3 prediction model has Georgia at 37.7%, Florida State at 25.6% and Auburn at 18.6%.
Going by the 247Sports composite rankings, Bolden is first among safeties in his class, second overall in the state of Georgia and No. 7 nationally.
For now, the Bulldogs are still No. 1 in the 2024 national recruiting rankings, Florida State currently ranks No. 6 and Auburn is No. 18 after a big surge last week.
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