Kirby Smart explains how Georgia landed 5-star safety KJ Bolden

The Bulldogs coach explained consistency was the key in ultimately winning out and landing the top safety in the country.

For the longest time it seemed like Georgia was playing for second place in the recruitment of five-star safety KJ Bolden. Much to the delight of Georgia fans, that ultimately proved not to be the case.

Bolden flipped his commitment from Florida State to Georgia on Wednesday and served as the cherry on top of the Bulldogs’ top-ranked recruiting class. Some may believe that the decision signaled a huge effort late by the Bulldogs, but Kirby Smart explained that was not the case.

“There was no different recruitment for KJ. It was just consistent, and a mutual respect probably is the right word, you know?” Smart said on Wednesday. “I reached out to him when he committed elsewhere and just told him that I had a lot of respect for him and we weren’t going to stop recruiting him and that we thought this was the best place for him.

“Andrew Thomas’ parents taught me that consistency is the key. We were very consistent every time [KJ] was here. And, you know what, it worked out. It doesn’t always work out, but it worked out in this case, and we’re not going to change our method of how we go about things.”

In addition to consistency, Smart explained Bolden was quite familiar with Georgia and the coaching staff. Smart said he met Bolden and his mother LaKiesha Wright when Bolden was a ninth grader and spoke to both of them for about 45 minutes in Georgia’s indoor practice facility. Smart estimated that Bolden had been on Georgia’s campus 20-30 times since largely due to the different events and the 7-on-7 camps held there.

Georgia was one of the runner-ups for Bolden back in August when the five-star pledged to the Seminoles. As well positioned as Florida State seemed for Bolden, Smart and his staff remained consistent in their pitch to Bolden and his family with the hope of winning out.

Ultimately, they did just that.

Bolden’s signing means Georgia has landed a player who 247Sports has as the top safety prospect in the country and the third-best player in the state of Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Bolden is coming off a senior season in which he was named Region 8-7A Defensive Player of the Year after playing both ways at Buford. His final stats amounted to 33 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 3 pass break-ups on defense and 30 receptions for 663 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense. He also had a rushing touchdown and two kickoff return touchdowns.

Bolden joined a deep secondary class for Georgia that is made up of five-star cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, four-star cornerback Demello Jones, and four-star cornerback Ondre Evans. Smart mentioned the speed that group brings — he said they could be a 4×100 team and probably win a national event — then brought up an unbelievable night that he saw Bolden have at Buford.

“They all have speed. You know, I saw KJ play one night, and he had a defensive touchdown, a kickoff return touchdown, a running touchdown, and a receiving touchdown,” Smart said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever, you know, witnessed that and seen something like that in person because he’s a dynamic player.”

Georgia fans may have been discouraged when Bolden committed elsewhere in August, but Smart and his staff remained diligent in hopes of having the last laugh. While the situation may have looked bleak from the outside, the Dawgs remained consistent and got Bolden when it was finally time to put pen to paper.