Florida State lands 5-star professional athlete K

• Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Personnel WriterAug 5, 2023, 07:56 PM ET

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  • ESPN personnel author
  • Joined ESPN in 2011
  • Finished from Central Michigan

First-class athlete K.J. Bolden announced his commitment to Florida State on Saturday, choosing the Seminoles over Georgia and Auburn.Bolden is the No. 16 possibility in general in the 2024 class and the No. 2 professional athlete. He’s a 6-foot-1, 190-pound hire from Buford High School (Buford, Georgia) and had almost every significant program after him. Regardless of all the choices he had, Bolden thought Florida State was the best one.

“The culture and the history behind it,” Bolden said. “Deion [Sanders], Derwin [James], Jalen Ramsey, all the great people that went to that program. They bring a lot of fantastic experience from a protective back area and I would not mind being a part of that.”

Bolden is noted as an athlete, however was primarily recruited to play in the secondary and for kick returns. He is versatile enough that the Seminoles can try him in a couple of different spots on defense and see where he fits best.Being an hour from the Georgia school, Bolden believed he would wind up as a Dawg when his recruiting process started, however as he got further into the relationship structure procedure, he found that he was open to going farther away from home.” I believed I was going to Georgia since it was the hometown,”Bolden stated. “But, I needed to get utilized to the recruiting process and discover a bit more. Now that I’ve been in the procedure, I have actually seen different views of it and where I really see myself.”He stated his check out to Florida State with his family showed how much the Seminoles’personnel cared, and the hospitality he got put the school over the top.”Coach [Mike] Norvell, he revealed me that he was willing to do whatever to make me

effective. He said he’ll do whatever in his power and he’ll never ever quit on me,”Bolden said.” It’s not good to dedicate because of a training staff, however I feel like I’m close with all those people. They’re constantly texting me, even if it’s offensive or protective coaches, both sides, I simply felt genuine close with that school.”His commitment offers Florida State nine ESPN 300 dedications. Bolden is the Seminoles highest-ranked commitment in the class.