Tag: KJ Bolden

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.

What’s next for Ohio State recruiting after missing on safety KJ Bolden

Who are the most logical targets the Buckeyes should go after? #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] must once again reset its recruiting board after missing out on 2024 5-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], who surprised many and chose Florida State over the field.

Not many people expected Bolden to select the Seminoles, in fact, the majority of insiders believed that his top choices were Georgia and Auburn. Regardless of where the 6-foot, 1-inch, 185-pound safety is going, he still didn’t pick the Buckeyes.

Bolden was one of the biggest remaining targets on Ohio State’s board, especially considering that he is ranked as the No. 1 safety and 7th overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Find out below which targets the Buckeyes will recruit harder now that the Georgian has made his verbal commitment.

Five-star safety KJ Bolden announces commitment to Florida State

Bolden chose the Seminoles over Auburn and Georgia on Saturday evening.

Auburn football was in the running to land one of the most talented prospects from the class of 2024. However, it was a race where they came up short.

[autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag], a five-star safety from Buford, Georgia, and one of Auburn’s top targets from the 2024 cycle announced his commitment on Saturday night. In a ceremony held at his high school, Bolden chose Florida State over Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, and Alabama.

Bolden spent his final weekend ahead of his commitment by visiting Auburn for Big Cat Weekend, and he admittedly almost committed to the Tigers. However, he wanted to use this past week to weigh all of his options.

Bolden said in an interview with On3 that he is excited about the way that Florida State will use him on the field.

“Coach Mike Norvell…after Coach (Willie) Taggart got fired, he took the job, and ever since then he told me he was going to rebuild that team up. I remember when Florida State wasn’t winning how they used to be winning, and he always told me ‘just trust in us, trust in us, we’re gonna get back to the top this year,’ and my junior year they went 10-3. They had a great season and coming into this season they brought a lot of returning players back, so Coach Norvell’s definitely flipped the program back to where it’s supposed to have been at the whole time. Florida State’s got great coaches, Coach (Patrick) Surtain, Coach (Adam) Fuller, they’re all important to the guys, they all know what they’re talking about. And the way they’re going to use me, I feel like that’s a great way to use me.”

Auburn’s day does not end on a sour note, as they celebrate the commitment of four-star athlete [autotag]Jalewis Solomon[/autotag]. Solomon chose Auburn over South Carolina following a great visit to Auburn during Big Cat Weekend.

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Elite five-star Georgia target KJ Bolden makes commitment

5-star Buford athlete will be a Seminole…

Five-star athlete KJ Bolden announced his commitment to Florida State on Saturday night.

The Buford High School star was also considering Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State.

Bolden (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) is rated as the No. 7 player, the No. 1 safety and the No. 2 player in the state of Georgia in the 2024 class, per 247Sports Composite.

Bolden is of the most highly coveted prospects in the country and the Bulldogs pushed hard for his pledge. Bolden is teammates with Georgia quarterback commit Dylan Raiola, who was also helping get him to Athens.

The Dawgs’ class still sits atop the 247Sports team rankings by a large margin over Ohio State.

Georgia is not going to give up on recruiting K.J. Bolden despite his commitment to Florida State. The Columbus Dispatch

KJ Bolden’s commitment to Florida State is a big boost for the Seminoles, who are on a recruiting hot streak right now.

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Ohio State football misses out on KJ Bolden to somewhat surprising school

Coffee is for closers and the Ohio State coaches are thirsty on Saturday night #GoBucks

It has been a reoccurring theme with [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] and high-end prospects over the last two cycles, where the Buckeyes miss out on their guy.

It happened once again on Saturday night, as 2024 Georgia 5-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag] opted to stay in the South and commit to the Florida State Seminoles. This recruitment stings for multiple reasons, one of them being the fact that the safety’s uncle, [autotag]Perry Eliano[/autotag], is Ohio State’s coach at that position.

If family ties aren’t enough to pull the 6-foot, 1-inch, 185-pound star, then it really wasn’t meant to be. Bolden, who is viewed as the No. 1 safety and 7th overall player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, has been a priority recruit for Ohio State.

The current 2024 Buckeye class has just two other safety commits, Garrett Stover and Jaylen McClain, but the former could end up playing linebacker as well.

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3 programs have a shot for KJ Bolden on the eve of his announcement

Sometimes a recruitment ends up like a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

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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