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Georgia safety KJ Bolden named to Bednarik watch list

On3 imageby: Jake Rowe08/11/25JakeMRowe
KJ Bolden
Apr 12, 2025; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back KJ Bolden (4) in action during the Georgia Spring game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

One of Georgia’s most talented defenders has been named to another preseason list. Sophomore safety KJ Bolden has been named to the Bednarik Award watch list. The award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year and it comes from the Maxwell Football Club.

Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter took home the award last year. The last Georgia player to win the award was Jordan Davis in 2021. David Pollck won it 17 years early in 2004. Bolden has also been named to the preseason watch list for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, an honor given annually to the nation’s top defensive back.

Bolden played a ton as a freshman, starting two games and playing in all 14. He registered four tackles in the first game of his career, a 31-3 win over Clemson. The Buford High School product piled up 59 total tackles and 40 of them were of the solo variety. He also had two tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, and a forced fumble.

In the 13th game of his career, Bolden’s first SEC Championship game, he came up with a big stop near the line of scrimmage in overtime. It forced Texas to kick a field goal and Georgia scored a touchdown on the subsequent drive for the win.

Bolden’s spot as a starter seems almost guaranteed at this point. Georgia lost its two starting safeties from a year ago, Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson, to the NFL Draft. That leaves Bolden as the most experienced player returning at that spot, even as a sophomore.

“I feel sorry for him sometimes because we’re looking around and I’m looking for a guy that’s been here for a long time,” Georgia co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Travaris Robinson said recently. “…There’s a bunch of guys that’s new, first time in the scheme, and we do a lot of different things. It’s really not fair on the kid, but there’s something that he has really took by the horn. He’s doing a really good job of trying to do that because naturally KJ ain’t that type of guy to be speaking and doing all that kind of stuff. But he’s took the role really seriously and doing a really good job with it. He’s doing some things in our meeting room, whether he’s standing up, going through his whys, things that’s important to him. And he’s doing a good job of doing that and really helping those young guys.

Bolden and Georgia will begin the 2025 season in approximately three weeks. It starts with a 3:30 p.m. ET home kickoff with Marshall.

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