Tag: KJ Bolden

Swinney Camp Notebook: Day 1, Morning Session

It’s that time of the year again. The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 1 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Wednesday, June 1. Here are our notes and observations from the morning session of Wednesday’s Swinney Camp: – The group of quarterbacks that …

It’s that time of the year again.

The Clemson Insider was on hand for Day 1 of the Dabo Swinney Camp on Wednesday, June 1. Here are our notes and observations from the morning session of Wednesday’s Swinney Camp:

— The group of quarterbacks that headlined Wednesday’s morning session was unparalleled. Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C) five-star Jadyn Davis was obviously the main attraction, but other top quarterbacks impressed as well. In addition to Davis, Calvary Day School (Savannah, Ga.) four-star Jake Merklinger, Columbus (Miami, Fla.) four-star Adrian Posse and Bellvue (Neb.) West three-star Daniel Kaelin were among the other top prospects in attendance.

— Other quarterbacks to make note of were two prospects in the class of 2025: Collins Hill’s (Suwanee, Ga.) TJ Wilcox and Houston County’s (Warner Robbins, Ga.) Antwann Hill.

— It should be noted that Davis doesn’t need to be out there. He’s the nation’s No. 1-ranked prospect and quarterback and Clemson has seen him throw in person countless times. It’s clear that he wants that offer and speaks to his character. There’s mutual interest there and Clemson could certainly still offer Davis, even after offering Willis (Texas) five-star DJ Lagway on Tuesday.

— The wide receivers were also an impressive group, highlighted by Powell (Tenn.) 2023 three-star Ayden Greene, Daniel (Central, S.C.) 2023 Jaylen Brown-Wallace, Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) 2024 four-star Channing Goodwin and Grimsley (N.C.) four-star Alex Taylor.

— Some tight ends that we’ve written about in the past definitely stood out. Marian Central Catholic (Woodstock, Ill.) 2024 four-star tight end Christian Bentancur and Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) 2024 three-star Luca Puccinelli are even bigger in person.

— There was one 2024 running back that we wanted to make note of in Stockbridge’s (Ga.) Jayden Scott. The fast-rising back was receiving a lot of attention from Clemson running backs coach CJ Spiller, as he worked out with the top group.

— There was definitely one offensive lineman that stood out among the rest in St. Edward’s (Lakewood, Ohio) 2024 four-star offensive tackle Ben Roebuck. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound lineman currently ranks as the No. 5 offensive tackle in the nation for the class of 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

— We also caught Alpharetta (Ga.) 2023 offensive tackle Obadiah Obasuyi walking in. He certainly looks the part, standing at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds. Obasuyi currently holds offers from schools like East Carolina, N.C. State and Georgia Tech.

— An athlete that made the trip was Christ School (Arden, N.C.) 2023 four-star Zack Myers. He worked out with the defensive backs and is somebody that we will definitely be monitoring during the afternoon session.

— We learned this afternoon that Clemson told Buford (Ga.) 2024 five-star athlete KJ Bolden, not to work out. We didn’t notice Bolden out there and he informed us that he wouldn’t be participating in today’s camp. Rather, he has a meeting scheduled with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney later, which could culminate in some good news coming Bolden’s way.

— It should be noted that Bolden, the nation’s top-ranked athlete in the class of 2024, being on campus Wednesday is a big deal. Bolden has several suitors who would’ve loved to get him on campus, but the fact he chose Clemson certainly speaks to how he feels about the program and his chances of earning an offer.

5-star, nation’s top-ranked athlete gives the latest on recruitment, Clemson

There continues to be considerable mutual interest between Clemson and the nation’s top-ranked athlete in the 2024 class. Buford (Ga.) High School five-star Khalil “KJ” Bolden recently spoke with The Clemson Insider regarding the latest in his …

There continues to be considerable mutual interest between Clemson and the nation’s top-ranked athlete in the 2024 class.

Buford (Ga.) High School five-star Khalil “KJ” Bolden recently spoke with The Clemson Insider regarding the latest in his recruitment, where things stand with the Tigers and more.

“Everything’s been going straight,” he said of the recruiting process. “I’m picking up offers constantly, daily. Me and my family have been talking. We plan on narrowing things down junior year to like 12 or something like that, and then just keep going on from there.”

Clemson would be a big contender for Bolden, who has collected 30-plus offers, if the Tigers extend an offer to him once they start offering more prospects in the 2024 class this summer.

“Clemson’s always been one of my favorite schools since I was little,” he said. “But Clemson does things different when it comes to offering and things like that. But definitely if I get the offer, they’ll definitely be one of my top schools I’ll have to go see and check out and things like that.”

Bolden has been communicating with Clemson co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Mickey Conn, as well as wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham.

“I hear from Coach Conn and Coach Grisham every once in a while. Those are my guys,” he said.

“They both say the same thing – like, we want you, we think you can play for this university and we’re not going to force you… like, it doesn’t matter what side you choose, either safety or receiver, and things of that nature.”

According to Bolden, Clemson is leaving it up to him as far as whether he would play safety or receiver should he choose to suit up for the Tigers in college.

The 6-foot-1, 182-pound rising junior expects to be doing plenty of pass-catching for Buford this season and then will go from there as he determines which position he’d prefer to play at the next level.

“This year, I’m going to be playing a lot of receiver because we had an Alabama commit (Isaiah Bond),” Bolden said. “He was playing mostly receiver, but this year I’ve got to step up and take over that spot. So, after this year, I plan on seeing what I want to do and how I want to go from there.”

Bolden is a five-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite, while 247Sports ranks him as the nation’s No. 1 athlete and No. 3 overall prospect in the country for the 2024 class regardless of position.

“I’m a true definition of an athlete,” he said, describing himself as a player, “because I can hurt you both with speed or strength. I’m a ballhawk. It doesn’t matter, offense or defense, wherever the ball is, I’m trying to get it. I just try to play fast and just be a leader for the team and things like that. I’m really big on leadership.”

Bolden estimates he’s been to Clemson two or three times and explained what stood out to him from those visits to campus and the time he spent around Dabo Swinney and the Tigers’ staff.

“They’re all like family. They’re big on what they do,” he said. “They never change things up. Coach Dabo, he was nice. He gets after it. I like things like that, coaches like that, and it’s just more than football to them. They like to talk about life and other things beyond football, and schools like that, that’s really big to me.”

Bolden’s mother, who hails from the Palmetto State, is a big fan of Clemson as well.

“She loves it,” he said. “My mom is from South Carolina, so she told me she wouldn’t mind me going back to her hometown and things like that. So, that’s going to be one of her top schools.”

Bolden plans to visit Clemson with his mom again this summer if the Tigers pull the trigger on an offer.

“Hopefully I get the offer June 1 so I can come back down there,” he said. “My mom really wants to go back down there. So, hopefully I’ll get it June 1, and then we’ll go on another visit around June, July.”

Bolden said he is looking to visit schools such as Texas A&M, LSU, Florida State, USC and Penn State moving forward.

As it stands now, several schools are locks to make the cut for Bolden when he narrows things down and drops his top-schools list during his junior year.

“Georgia’s definitely going to make it, Alabama, Ole Miss, Ohio State,” he said. “Those are the schools right now, for now. … And if Clemson offers, I’ll definitely mention them.”

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Auburn offers 5-star 2024 athlete KJ Bolden

Auburn has entered the mix for one of the best prospects in the country.

Auburn has extended an offer to one of the best athletes in the country. On Wednesday, the Tigers offered five-star athlete [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag].

Bolden, a member of the 2024 recruiting class, is from Buford, Georgia, and already has over 30 offers from all across the country. Measuring in at 6-feet-1 and 185 pounds he plays both safety and wide receiver for Buford High School and is a dynamic playmaker on both sides.

He is rated as the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 2 athlete in the 247Sports composite ranking for the 2024 recruiting class. He is also the No. 3 player from Georgia.

His elite speed allows him to create explosive plays as a wide receiver on deep routes as well as quick passes which allow him to create after the catch. While he has potential as a wide receiver, his ceiling at safety may be even higher.

Bolden is capable of matching up with bigger wide receivers or tight ends and does an excellent job making plays on the ball. He is also willing to lower the pads and deliver a hit.

Regardless of position, he has a future playing on Saturdays and is the type of prospect that Auburn needs to land to thrive in the SEC.

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5-star, Nation’s No. 1 athlete will be at Clemson this weekend

Clemson is set to play host to one of the nation’s best prospects in the class of 2024 this weekend. The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Buford (Ga.) High School five-star athlete K.J. Bolden, who will be on campus this Saturday, March 12, …

Clemson is set to play host to one of the nation’s best prospects in the class of 2024 this weekend.

The Clemson Insider recently caught up with Buford (Ga.) High School five-star athlete K.J. Bolden, who will be on campus this Saturday, March 12, and he confirmed that via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

Bolden (6-0, 180) currently ranks as the nation’s No. 1 athlete and No. 9 overall prospect in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

“Last time I spoke with Coach (Tyler) Grisham, the receivers coach,” Bolden told TCI this past week. “He was just telling me about the culture and how Clemson doesn’t just offer anyone and how we have to wait until June 1 of our junior year for when they offer juniors.”

How does Bolden feel about that?

“At first, I was frustrated, because Clemson has always been my favorite school that I wanted an offer from,” he said. “But when I hit my sophomore year, it made me realize that they just want to get to know you and I like coaches like that, who want to get to know you before they bring you onto your team. That’s really big to me.”

While Grisham has recently been in contact with Bolden, the Tigers have left it up to Bolden to determine what position he’ll play at the next level. He’s not leaning way or another, rather he’d like to see how the next two years of his high school career go.

What is Bolden hoping to get out of his visit?

“I just want to go down there and know those coaches more, build a better relationship than we already have,” he said.

In addition to Clemson, Bolden is planning to visit Ohio State, Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan State and Penn State.

He indicated that these upcoming visits are going to be very important for him. By the time his junior year rolls around, Bolden wants to narrow down his recruitment to 8-10 schools.

This weekend will certainly be a determining factor in whether Clemson is one of those schools going forward.

“I feel like the program’s performance is great still,” Bolden said. “Coach Dabo (Swinney) knows what he’s doing. He’s got a couple of good guys coming on this year. Hopefully, they have a good season this year.”

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Michigan State Football offers 2024 ATH Khalil Bolden

Michigan State has sent out an offer to another top player in the class of 2024. This time it is wide receiver/safety Khalil “KJ” Bolden.

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Michigan State has sent out an offer to another top player in the class of 2024. A few weeks ago, they sent out an offer to stud wide receiver Nick Marsh. Now they have offered wide receiver and safety Khalil “KJ” Bolden.

Bolden, who is 6’2″ and 181 pounds, can play both sides of the ball and is considered a top prospect in the class of 2024. He attends Buford High School in his hometown of Buford, Georgia. He is currently unranked like all other 2024 prospects, but expect him to be a four or five-star athlete when more recruiting becomes available.

Bolden has already received an offer from another division 1 school in Florida State. Bolden has great speed from what I can see on the tapes, he also has good strength and ball carrier vision. He can easily find the open lane and take it to the house. Expect Michigan State to focus heavily on Bolden and try to have him commit to MSU.

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