Georgia insider details how Bulldogs flipped Five-Star Plus+ safety KJ Bolden

Of all the Early National Signing Day news, Buford (Ga.) Five-Star Plus+ safety KJ Bolden flipping from Florida State to Georgia was among the biggest.

The No. 13 overall prospect and top-ranked safety in the On3 Industry Ranking announced on Wednesday that he was indeed staying in-state and not heading to Tallahassee. The Bulldogs were always a fixture in Bolden’s recruitment, but were unable to beat out the Seminoles back on Aug. 5.

That didn’t stop Kirby Smart and the UGA staff. Consistent communication was kept, and around 48 hours before the Early Signing Period began, the Dawgs began garnering some palpable buzz. Sure enough, just after 11 a.m. CT, the eye-popping flip was announced.

“I chose Georgia because I wanted to be developed and compete with the best of the best,” Bolden told On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Deep roots kept Bolden in the Peach State

On the latest edition of The Inside Scoop, Georgia insider Jake Rowe joined On3’s Josh Newberg to detail how UGA was able to pull off the major recruiting win at the 11th hour. Long-standing relationships helped Smart and the Dawgs in the long run.

“Ultimately, what ended up happening here is…you start to hear more and more, I think (Bolden) ended up taking a few more visits to Georgia than folks realize. Being close, it’s tough to do that under the radar these days, I think that had a big thing to do with it,” Rowe said.

Earlier this month, Bolden took an under-the-radar visit to Syracuse — which had just hired former UGA coach Fran Brown to be the new head coach of the Orange. Rowe also points to that weekend as a potential catalyst, one that might have reminded Bolden once more of his old connections with those in Athens.

“I also think that visiting Syracuse and talking with Fran Brown, spending some time with him, I think Fran Brown probably gave Georgia a little bit of an assist from the outside on this one,” Rowe said. “But ultimately, the main driving factor here is that Kirby Smart has known this kid for a long time and he kinda brought Georgia back in it…the roots were deep there and too much for Florida State and Auburn to overcome in the end.”

Bolden cements UGA atop the 2024 recruiting cycle

Georgia entered NSD with the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation — per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Alabama made a late charge for the top spot, but once the Dawgs flipped Bolden, their spot at No. 1 was sealed.

Bolden is one of three Five-Star Plus+ signees, alongside New Haven (Conn.) native and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy Five-Star Plus+ cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, as well as Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge Five-Star Plus+ linebacker Justin Williams. All three prospects are the top-ranked player at their respective position. In total, 21 of the 28 UGA signees are top-300 prospects and range across 10 different positions.