Tag: KJ Bolden

Auburn to host 2026 CB Nassir McCoy this weekend

The Buford, Georgia native will kick off his round of spring visits on March 16 by visiting Auburn.

One of the most popular prospects from the class of 2026 will kick off his round of spring visits this weekend by taking a trip to Auburn.

According to a report by On3’s Chad Simmons, 2026 cornerback [autotag]Nassir McCoy[/autotag] will be on campus this weekend, his first of the spring. McCoy has also scheduled visits to Alabama, Ohio State, Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Texas, and Oregon before the calendar rolls over to May.

Due to his age, McCoy has not received a ranking from any recruiting outlets. However, his offer list is respectable despite having two seasons of high school eligibility remaining. The front runners so far for McCoy’s signature are Alabama and Georgia. McCoy is intrigued by Alabama’s development of defensive backs while Georgia is McCoy’s favorite college team. It helps that his cousin, five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], recently signed with the Bulldogs.

McCoy, a 6-0, 180-pound safety, was ninth in tackles last season for Buford High School He racked up 38 total tackles with three for a loss. He also recorded two interceptions and deflected a pass.

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Four-star Georgia commit visits Auburn, DJ Durkin on Sunday

Jadon Perlotte’s relationship with new defensive coordinator DJ Durkin may help the Tigers chances to flip from rival Georgia.

Auburn has been high on the radar of four-star linebacker [autotag]Jadon Perlotte[/autotag] for quite some time. Their stock has risen now that they have tabbed [autotag]DJ Durkin[/autotag] as the new defensive coordinator.

Perlotte, a Georgia pledge since December of 2022, visited Auburn on Sunday for the seventh time since the 2022 football season. One of the main reasons for his visit was to catch up with Durkin, a coach who recruited him heavily during his days at Texas A&M.

Perlotte tells Caleb Jones of Rivals that Durkin sees Perlotte as a player who can be the “quarterback of the defense.” He also says that his experience as a coach intrigues him.

“(Durkin) bringing his knowledge down here is just a big deal for me,” Perlotte said in an interview with Rivals. “We went through a lot of film. He knows what he’s talking about. His backers are very versatile and the next level is the league, that’s where I wanna be at.”

Georgia is the frontrunner at this time, but Auburn and Florida State remain high in the chase. His high school teammate at Buford, [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], signed with Georgia during the early signing period, which is important due to a quote published by Sports Illustrated last August which he stated that he and Bolden were a “package deal.”

“I’ve got to play with him,” Perlotte said in August. “Nobody has scored, pass-wise, on our side 1-2 during our whole high school careers. I’ve got to play with KJ (Bolden). Our package is just different.”

Perlotte is the No. 3 linebacker for the 2025 cycle and is the No. 25 overall player for the recruiting class. Perlotte says that he plans to visit Auburn more this year, including several times during the spring practice period.

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Auburn 5-star safety target KJ Bolden commits to Georgia

Auburn was unable to flip five-star safety KJ Bolden, who committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Auburn pulled off several impressive flips in the 2024 recruiting cycle but was unable to close the deal with five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag]. Instead, he committed to the Georgia Bulldogs, flipping from Florida State.

All three of Auburn, Georgia and Florida State were finalists when Bolden picked the Seminoles back in August and each kept recruiting him hard ahead of the early signing period. He visited each school and hosted coaches for in-home visits but the in-state Bulldogs were able to win out.

Bolden is the No. 14 overall player and No. 1 safety in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is the No. 2 player from Georgia.

While missing out on the talented Bolden stings, secondary coach [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] and Auburn have landed several promising defensive backs. The group consists of four-star prospects Jalyn Crawford, A’Mon Lane-Ganus and Kenley Faustin and three-stars Laquan Robinson and Kaleb Harris.

Stay up-to-date with the latest signing day news by checking out Auburn Wire’s early signing period tracker.

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Georgia flips No. 1 safety KJ Bolden from FSU

Georgia flips No. 1 safety KJ Bolden from FSU

The early signing period is here and UGA Wire has you covered throughout the day as the Bulldogs sign the bulk of their 2024 class.

In typical Kirby Smart fashion, Georgia has flipped a game-changing recruit on National Signing Day.

K.J. Bolden, a five-star recruit and the nation’s No. 1 safety, has flipped his commitment from Florida State to Georgia in the 2024 class.

The Bulldogs’ strong push for Bolden has paid off in full. The in-state Buford High School product has been committed to the Seminoles since August 5.

Bolden is rated as the No. 14 prospect overall and the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

Bolden (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) is far beyond a typical defensive back. He also played receiver at Buford and has the skillset to play both ways in Athens.

Georgia is running away with the nation’s No. 1 overall class.

Updated: Bolden has officially signed his letter of intent to Georgia.

 

Fran Brown is already pulling in SEC-level recruits for official visits to Syracuse

Fran Brown is getting some SEC quality recruits on campus at Syracuse.

Fran Brown has hit the ground running, the Syracuse head football coach is already doing a tremendous job in getting recruits excited about the program.

This shouldn’t be a surprise, given that Brown has been one of the top recruiters in the nation over the past four years. Brown comes to Syracuse having spent the last two years as the safeties coach at Georgia.

Prior to that, he was the secondary coach at Rutgers.

And with Syracuse desperately needing an injection of talent and star power, Brown’s first weekend of official visits is rolling along in impressive fashion.

There is an impressive list of visitors on campus right now at Syracuse. This is what a program in the SEC brings in for official visits, not a mid-table ACC program. Impressive stuff from Brown.

Via multiple sources, the following players are confirmed to be at Syracuse this weekend:

 

The most interesting name here, of course, is Bolden, who is one of the top-ranked players in the nation. Syracuse would need a lot to get Bolden to de-commit from Florida State (or to not flip to say Georgia) but even getting a player of his caliber on campus is impressive.

Auburn remains determined to flip KJ Bolden from Florida State

It appears that Hugh Freeze is feeling lucky after flipping Cam Coleman from Texas A&M.

Last week, wide receivers coach [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] visited Central High School in Phenix City to have a chat with five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman. The meeting went well, as Coleman flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Auburn.

After the flip, it appears as if Hugh Freeze and his staff are feeling lucky as they continue to pursue five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag]. Freeze paid a visit to Bolden on Tuesday.

Bolden has been a popular target for Auburn, and they were in Bolden’s final five choices before he ultimately committed to Florida State on August 5. Despite his pledge to Florida State, Auburn has remained heavy in their pursuit of Bolden. Bolden visited Auburn during the weekend of the Georgia game and said that the atmosphere of Jordan-Hare Stadium “caught him off guard” but in a good way.

Now that early signing day is within eyesight, Freeze is making one final push to sway Bolden to the Plains. In a recent episode of The Inside Scoop from On3, Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee says that Auburn’s recent success of landing recruits such as Coleman and fellow five-star receiver [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] has changed the way Bolden views Auburn.

“Now they’ve got both of those guys, they’ve got Joe Phillips, they’ve got Jamonta Waller, they just added Cam Coleman. And I really think that’s opened KJ’s eyes,” Lee said. “Like oh, it’s not just one or two guys. This class could end up being really, really good. So I think with his interest level before, and now some of these recruits jumping on board certainly has opened his eyes with renewed interest in Auburn.”

As it stands currently, Auburn has the No. 11 recruiting class according to both 247Sports and On3. Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] headline the class that features two five-stars, and ten four-stars.

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Four 2024 commits pledge to play in All-American Bowl

Several of Auburn’s talented 2024 commits will get the chance to showcase their talents in front of a national audience this January.

Early signing day is approaching, and several of Auburn’s top commitments for the 2024 class have pledged to participate in an All-Star game this upcoming January.

The All-American Bowl, which is set to take place on Saturday, January 6 in San Antonio, Texas, has invited four of Auburn’s highest-rated 2024 commitments to play. It will be the first chance to see four-star quarterback [autotag]Walker White[/autotag], four-star offensive lineman [autotag]DeAndre Carter[/autotag], four-star linebacker [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and four-star safety [autotag]Kensley Faustin[/autotag] on the same field.

White, Carter, and Riddick are all in the top 15 of their respective positions while Faustin ranks as high as No. 35 among safeties in the 2024 cycle.

There is a possibility that this list could expand, as Auburn targets [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], [autotag]Ny Carr[/autotag], and [autotag]Zaquan Patterson[/autotag] are also set to play in the game.

The game, which will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, will kick off at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, January 6. The game can be seen live on NBC.

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Five star DB KJ Bolden impressed by official visit to Auburn

Bolden is a strong Florida State pledge, but Auburn may not be out of the running yet.

Auburn fans were understandably disappointed to learn that five-star DB [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag] announced his commitment to Florida State in August. However, Auburn may not be out of the running just yet.

Bolden took his official visit to Auburn for the Georgia game last weekend and was surprised at the progress that the program has made with [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] at the helm.

Bolden told Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live that he was surprised that Auburn was able to keep up with Georgia, which made him look at the program in a different light. He was also impressed by the atmosphere of a game that magnitude projects at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“The game atmosphere was crazy,” Bolden said. “This is the first game I’ve been to, so the atmosphere caught me off guard a little bit. It was one of the best games I’ve ever been to, the fan base. Even though they didn’t get the win, the fans still stayed after it and cheered on the team. It shows that this program is real tight and close together.”

Bolden’s next visit to the Plains will be for the Iron Bowl in November. He will visit Florida State for the Miami game on Nov. 11 and will make an appearance at Georgia before the season ends as well.

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Auburn safety target Zaquan Patterson announces commitment

The Tigers missed out on the elite safety Saturday.

Four-star safety [autotag]Zaquan Patterson[/autotag] was one of Auburn’s top remaining targets but they were unable to pull him out of the Sunshine State, as he opted to stay home and play for the Miami Hurricanes.

Patterson emerged as an Auburn target back on March 17 when they extended an offer to the 6-foot, 180-pounder. He moved up the board when Auburn missed on five-star [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], who picked Florida State over Auburn.

Patterson is the No. 77 overall player and No. 3 safety in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 10 player from Florida.

While missing on Patterson stings, Auburn has already built an impressive defensive backroom, landing four-star safety [autotag]Kensley Faustin[/autotag] and four-star cornerbacks [autotag]Jayden Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]A’Mon Lane[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalyn Crawford[/autotag].

While it will be an uphill battle to land Patterson, it is not over. He has stated publically that he plans to take multiple visits during the season and that his recruitment is open. In fact, the only reason he is committing now is that his high school, Chaminade Madonna, requires its seniors to be committed before the start of the season.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn have shown the ability to flip elite recruits and Patterson will be a player to keep an eye on, especially if they can get him back on campus.

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5-star safety KJ Bolden commits to Florida State

KJ Bolden, a star high school Georgia safety, committed to Florida State over the weekend.

A month after announcing his top five programs, five-star safety KJ Bolden has verbally committed to his school of choice among the 40 programs that offered him: The Buford High School (Ga.) star will attend Florida State.

He posted a graphic on Twitter, announcing his choice as the Seminoles and saying “I’m home.”

Bolden is ranked on 247Sports as the No. 1 safety in the class, No. 7 player overall and second-best high school player in Georgia, trailing only his teammate and new quarterback Dylan Raiola. With that No. 7 placement in the class of 2024, Bolden is the highest-ranked the recruit to commit to the Seminoles since Cam Akers (also No. 7) in 2017.

Bolden chose Florida State over his other top-5 programs that he announced in July, which were Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Ohio State.

Rivals reporter John Garcia said that Georgia was long considered the favorite for the star recruit, but a trip about a month ago to Florida State “started to shift some conversation.”

The Seminoles now have 22 commits to the program, including fellow five-star Landen Thomas, a tight end out of Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga). and six four-star players. It’s still rather early in the process, but Florida State’s class of 2024 is ranked No. 4 overall.