ATHENS — Georgia safety KJ Bolden does not see things the way everyone else might.
That helps explain why he’s been such a great safety in his time at Georgia. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors last season, finishing with 76 tackles, 2 interceptions and 5 pass breakups. Entering his junior season, he’s likely to be one of the best players, in addition to defensive backs, in the country.
“He’s made strides big time, especially even in winter workouts,” London Humphreys said of Bolden. “Just being a leader, speaking up, being vocal in the weight room when we have those 5 a.m., 6 a.m. team runs and whatnot. Because it’s pretty evident on the field he makes great plays and leads that defense well. But he’s done a great job just getting everyone on the same page as a team.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bolden is an excellent communicator, given how crucial he is in coordinating the Georgia secondary. While CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson orchestrated the defensive front last season, it was on Bolden to make sure everything was in its right place in the Georgia secondary.
As for his message to this year’s secondary, Bolden speaks from a position of confidence.
“Time just flies so fast,” Bolden said. “Next thing you know, I’m in my third year. Just being a leader for my team. It just came so fast, but we just got to take it on, just be ready for it. We just got to be better than how it was last year and just keep growing, keep getting better.”
Bolden is very much motivated by last season’s loss to Ole Miss. The secondary did not have its best showing that day, as Trinidad Chambliss threw for 362 yards and 2 touchdowns.
It didn’t help that the Bulldogs were without starting safety Kyron Jones and his replacement, JaCorey Thomas, got ejected because of a targeting penalty. Georgia leaned heavily on then-freshmen Rasean Dinkins at star, as Joenel Aguero was dealing with an injury.
“It still stings to this day. You just gotta kinda look past it,” Bolden said. “You know, you’ve got a new team, new season. You gotta just reset, man, and just grow with this team you got right now and just be prepared. But it definitely still stings a lot. You think about it every once in a while once you see it. You don’t never want to lose and feel that pain, but you gotta come ready and be ready to work.”
Thomas and Ageuro are now gone, as the Bulldogs have to additionally replace starting cornerback Daylen Everette. Georgia added four defensive backs via the transfer portal while signing six defensive backs from the 2026 high school ranks.
“Coach Smart recruits players who — you know, he’s gonna develop you, but at the same time you gotta come ready to work,” Bolden said. “You never know when your number’s gonna be called, so you gotta be always ready. I always just tell the young guys, ‘Man, make sure y’all stay in the playbook. Always just know what you’re doing because you never know when your number’s gonna be called and you gotta go out there.’”
Bolden is particularly fond of freshman Tyriq Green, who played for the same Buford High School program that Bolden came out of.
The junior safety has accomplished a good bit in his time at Georgia. He’s taken the torch from Malaki Starks and is well on his way to being a first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft.
Before then, Bolden has things he wants to work on. He’d like to force a few more turnovers while improving as a vocal leader this season.
Chiefly, he wants to win a national championship. Starks and Chris Smith both did so while playing at an All-American level for the Bulldogs.
Bolden knows that this is the standard he has to meet as a junior.
“Just coming so close and just not being able to pull it off, it definitely hurts,” Bolden said. “But it just makes you more hungry. Like, it makes you more hungry where you want to go out there and just play harder for your brothers. You’ve got a lot of people on this team who ain’t never won anything in their life before, never won a championship, never won anything like that. So you just wanna go out there and do it for them.”
