Kirby Smart will tell you there’s a lot on the plate of sophomore safety KJ Bolden.

With no Malaki Starks or Dan Jackson to lean on, the former five-star has suddenly been thrust into a unique position of being the most experienced safety in a roomful of newcomers.

Yet, Bolden is only a sophomore.

“He's kind of the veteran of the group,” Smart said. “I mean, he hadn't been here but a year. He's played the most football. But he understands.”

Bolden admits he learned a lot in his first year as a Bulldog.

The former Buford standout earned Freshman All-SEC honors, and now that Starks and Jackson are gone, he will be expected to improve his game to help fill their sizable cleats.

Bolden treasures the lessons he learned from both of his former teammates.

“Yeah, just how to be a competitor, just going every day at practice, trying to get one percent better every day,” Bolden said. “Every day is not going to be a good day for you, so you know you're going to have on and off days.”

Smart said he’s proud of the progress Bolden has made.

However, there are areas where Bolden can grow. For example, with no Starks or Jackson to push him, his motivation to be great must come from within.

"He can't measure himself against what we have right now, and we're behind at that position,” Smart said. “We don't have Dan and Malaki, which were two really good staples. We have five or six safeties. It’s a big group, but right now, nobody has jumped out in the lead. There are a lot of guys new there.”

Each is getting an equal opportunity to show what they can do.

“We’ve been working a lot of guys. Ja’Corey (Thomas), Zion (Branch), Jaden (Harris) … I’ve been working with everybody, just trying to get everyone ready,” said Bolden, who welcomes the opportunity to have a leadership role on the defense at such a young age.

“I wouldn't say I feel a little weird, I really don't, because I prayed for moments like this, just to be a leader in one of the rooms at Georgia,” Bolden said. “Being able to take on that leader role and just pushing the guys every day because I know what the standard is here is great. I know what the standard is. You’ve got to be able go all the way.”

One message Bolden is getting across to his new teammates at the position is that they should be prepared to be coached differently than they have ever been.

“In high school, your coach is probably not going to say as much to you because, you know, you're a five-star, you're a four-star on the team, you probably run the team,” Bolden said. “But here, you really just got to hear how they're saying it to you. They may yell at you and say how they say it, but, like, you just really got to hear what he's saying. They really want you to be the best player you can be. I tell the guys, don’t take offense. They just really want you to be the best you can be. Just be coachable.”

Bolden’s not resting on his own laurels either.

“I kind of went up to the top with the coaches, you know, just went over the playbook, and look at things I could work on,” Bolden said. “I’d ask for tips and stuff like that. I’d ask some of my older guys like Malaki and Dan; I’d ask them about how I should approach things, and they gave me some great ideas on how I should do it. I can definitely tell you I feel great and am trying to be the best leader I can be every day.”