NEW ORLEANS - KJ Bolden's welcome to Georgia moment came on a cold winter morning.
In his first weeks on campus as an early enrollee, the five-star safety recruit participated in one of Georgia's team runs. Bolden woke up at 5 a.m., ran in the cold, and then returned home to call his mother.
"I was like, 'Mom, I don't know yet, I don't know.' She just told me to keep going and look where we’re at now," Bolden said.
Where are we now? Bolden is a freshman All-American safety who has played a major role for a Georgia team that won the SEC and is set to take on Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
"The coaches told me I’ve got a great opportunity to fight for it, playing time," Bolden said. "So I honestly didn't know what to expect. But I just knew one thing, I was going to come in and I was going to work hard every day, make sure I'm being on my P's and Q's, staying out of trouble. Just trying to be a good teammate, and so far, I feel I've been doing a pretty good job at that."
The secondary room had other new faces besides Bolden.
Georgia hired Travaris Robinson as safeties coach on January 13 shortly after Bolden arrived on campus. The two had formed a strong relationship when Robinson recruited Bolden to Alabama.
"When I got here, the first person I saw was him. I said, hey, you ran away from me. I had to come find you," Robinson said. "But he's a really good kid, raised properly, parents did a really good job with him, very respectful, very mindful of this opportunity, and taking full advantage of it. Talented young guy. He'll continue to get better and better with the more reps that he gets."
Robinson said Bolden embraced the role of "little brother" to veteran safeties such as Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson once he arrived on campus. Not every player takes to that status, but Bolden took it in stride.
Bolden called spring practice "crucial" in his development. Learning from Robinson, as well as head coach Kirby Smart, accelerated his mental growth. Bolden said Smart routinely points out things on film that other players and coaches simply don't see.
"(Smart) is really hard on you, you know, and that's what a coach is really supposed to be," Bolden said. "They’re supposed to be hard on you. If a coach is not hard on you while he's coaching you, then I don't know if he's really coaching you to the fullest ability as he can. Just being coached by Kirby, him being a defensive coach, he's always around the defensive staff and the players. It's just been awesome, just getting to learn so much from him and learn the game of ball, and he teaches you so much."
Even after spring and summer workouts, Bolden didn't know he'd play a big role in Georgia's season opener until the days before the game. The coaches told him he could get his shot, and he played a major role in the team's win against Clemson.
Bolden has played in all 13 games, starting two. His 54 tackles rank him fifth on the team. He has also registered two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
With each passing week, he has grown more comfortable under the bright lights. Bolden has also made sure to build a close relationship with Starks, who followed a similar career path.
"That's the type of guy you want to be your role model," Bolden said. "He always taught me, he’s always telling me, you've always been here. You've always been ready for this moment. It's just another game of football. You just go out there and play the hardest and the fastest you can."
The temperature in the Ceaser's Superdome on gameday will be far from the cold of the team run that spurred Bolden's temporary self-doubt.
But Bolden can now look back on that moment to see that, in fact, it has all been worth it.
"All the older guys told us, these workouts, they're going to be hard," Bolden said. "But then later on in the season, you're playing in the College Football Playoff, then you're going to see why they all paid off. Look at where we're at now, we're playing Notre Dame, trying to get to the next round. So I definitely feel like all that hard work and just all the workouts pay off for a reason."
