After a recruitment that took twists and turns down the stretch, K.J. Bolden decided to stay in-state and flip to Georgia. This, despite what he said, was a huge NIL offer from another program.
An offer that has been reported at $3 million annually.
A five-star safety for Buford (Buford, Georgia), Bolden is a consensus top-five player in the nation. Committed to Florida State since this past August, he flipped to Georgia on the first day of the early signing period in December. Bolden is set to play this Saturday at the All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (1:00 PM ET, NBC).
He signed with Georgia, despite the offer from another program that would have netted him multi-million dollars had he flipped.
“This school just mentioned all the bread they had,” Bolden told USA TODAY High School Sports on Wednesday following practice for the All-American Bowl.
“It wasn’t one of those top schools. It was definitely a good school, a good program. But it was just crazy how they just threw that out like ‘Hey, man, like, I know some quarterbacks who aren’t getting that so you are telling me I’m getting that? ‘ That’s crazy.”
The school and the reported $3 million offer did give Bolden some pause. The standout safety wisely won’t reveal the name of the school.
He did say that the offer came in three weeks before he signed for Georgia.
“I mean, at first when you first hear you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, that’s a lot of money.’ And then you got to think about like, ‘Alright, cool, does this place fit me? Like how do I like being up there?’ But you got to think about the other stuff,” Bolden said.
“I need to me like it’s a couple of schools that had me down to the wire but to me, it was just about being where you feel the most comfortable. The money is good to have because the money is good. But at the end of the day, it’s short-term money, The big money is in the NFL.”
At the time of his decision, his final three schools were “Auburn, Florida State and Georgia.”
Georgia in the end won out, flipping Bolden. He said that the relationship built with head coach Kirby Smart helped land him in-state.
“Just being from Georgia, being 30 minutes from Athens. Coach Kirby, he came and talked with my family,” Bolden said.
“The home visit went great. I feel like that’s what did it. He just came out there and interacted with my mom in the home visit, my dad – was so good. I feel like that’s what did it for sure.”
Saying that “iron definitely sharpens iron,” Bolden said that the week of practice leading up to Saturday’s All-American Bowl has pushed him. The bowl game has a loaded roster and will feature a traditional East-West format this year.
“It’s been a great experience just can’t get coached by the best. The best…and (been) going against the best this week,” Bolden said.
“So it’s really a great experience. I was every kid, every football player could experience experience (this) because it’s just great. It’s just a great – great vibes.”
Alumni of the All-American Bowl, first played in 1996, includes the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Brock Bowers, Sharrif Floyd, Andrew Luck, Nick Mangold, DeMarco Murray, Adrian Peterson, Tim Tebow, Joe Thomas and Chase Young among others.
