ATHENS, Ga. — Long before KJ Bolden cracked the starting lineup for Georgia, and before he even hit the practice fields in Athens, the former Buford standout was more than familiar with getting a team’s ‘best game.’
When asked Monday at the Bulldogs weekly news conference about that very thing, his response was also a familiar one ahead of the No. 5 Bulldogs’ showdown with No. 10 Texas at Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
“I love that, man!” he said. “You play the hardest games every week and everyone giving you their best shot. I feel like that’s just great for our team, and gets us ready for later on down the season.”
It was a weekly question for the standout sophomore defensive back during his prep days for the Wolves.
“I like playing those big-type of games in the regular season,” he stated. “Just knowing how to handle adversity and little things like that. I feel like that definitely helped us later on down the road as well.”
Bolden was able to break into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2024 and now is considered a leader in the secondary room as a sophomore. It’s a development not lost on Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
“This year, I would say (KJ’s) growth has been in leadership,” Smart answered during his weekly address to the media. “His freshman year it was probably adding some bulk and some size. He’s done a really good job of that in the offseason.
“His biggest growth this year is in being in a room where he has had to step to the forefront and be a leader and communicate more. He’s the lead communicator on the back end now. And he’s done a nice job of that.”
Bolden was part of two Georgia victories over the Longhorns in 2024, the last coming in the SEC Championship game. But he and Smart both said neither of those games factor into this week’s preparation.
“Two different teams. A lot of different players on each team,” Bolden said. “Texas is a very good team. They’re very physical, explosive, and fast. They got great quarterbacks. So I’m definitely looking forward to this week to see how our guys come out and compete.”
Bolden also had thoughts on Longhorns’ QB Arch Manning.
“He’s a great quarterback. He can throw the ball, but his legs are a big part of his game as well,” Bolden said. “He can extend plays downfield, and that’s something we got to work on this week, plastering [staying with an assigned receiver]. We gave up one against Florida, a little scramble pass. Manning is definitely going try to extend some plays with his legs. So we just got to try to keep him in the pocket.”
Now we’ll all see if the Bulldogs can handle their “plastering” or if Manning will plaster the defense with big plays on Saturday.
The post Former Buford standout Bolden taking on leadership role for Dogs’ defense appeared first on AccessWdun.
