KJ Bolden is already making plans for his sophomore year.
His goal is a simple one.
“Just to make sure I'm the one who helping the young guys out now,” Bolden said. “I just want to make sure every day I come in with a great attitude and mindset to work. People now are watching me. If I'm having an off day, other people might want to have an off day. So every day, I’ve got to come in ready to work.”
Bolden didn’t have many of those during his freshman season with Georgia.
The former Buford standout lived up to his five-star reputation by playing in all 14 Georgia games, starting against Florida and Tennessee en route to earning a spot on the SEC’s All-Freshman team.
“The coaches told me I got a great opportunity to fight for it (playing time),” Bolden said. “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 every day, work hard every day, and make sure I'm being on my P's and Q's.”
He did not disappoint on the field, either.
Bolden’s 59 tackles were the fifth-most on the team, collecting a sack against Tennessee Tech and his lone interception against Mississippi State.
Position coach Travaris Robinson has been coaching football for a while.
During his career, very few true freshmen have made the impact Bolden has.
“I've been doing this for a long time. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of young guys that have been able to come in and help. But, you know, he's just the next guy,” Robinson said. “He's doing a really good job. Again, the thing about K.J. is he's very smart. He's very humble and he's a talented guy. But he's exactly what we thought he would be. That's why he was so highly recruited.”
Intelligence, talent, and humility were why Bolden was able to play such a significant role so quickly, and he figures to be a full-time starter next fall with Malaki Starks moving on to the NFL.
Bolden said he credits the fact that he was around for spring practice with helping his career start quickly.
“The spring is definitely crucial because you usually get there early, you get to learn the plays off the start, you get to practice early, spring practice, you get a couple of practices, and then you get a spring game,” Bolden said. “It’s just so much different than just coming in from the summer. In the summer, the guys who came in the spring are already a couple of six months, five-something months ahead of you, so you're getting a late start, and you've got to catch up.”
When your head coach happens to have played the same position, you need all the extra time you can get.
However, Bolden said he would not have it any other way.
“It's great, I ain't gonna lie, it's great. But some coaches are, he's really hard on you, you know, and that's what (Smart) is really supposed to be, they're supposed to be hard on you,” Bolden said. “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.”
Bolden said his football IQ is higher because of it.
“He sees so much that you wouldn't even notice, it's so crazy,” Bolden said. “When you watch film with him, and he's just pointing out certain things, you’re like, ‘Wow, I was watching this play for like, I just watched this play five times in a row, and I didn't notice that.’”
