Syracuse football ‘unlikely to be real contender’ for 5-star who just visited

Consensus five-star safety KJ Bolden, a top-20 national prospect in the 2024 class, took an official visit to Syracuse football this past weekend.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Bolden was one of numerous highly rated players in the senior cycle who made trips to Central New York last weekend, in the wake of Fran Brown being introduced as the Orange’s new head coach on December 4.

Bolden, following his official visit to the ‘Cuse, had a lot of positive things to say about Brown and the direction of the Syracuse football program.

Naturally, Orange fans, myself included, are hoping that the ‘Cuse coaching staff can flip Bolden, who verbally committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State in early August.

As the early signing period for the 2024 class is set to commence on Wednesday, Dec. 20, there is a lot of chatter and discussion among national analysts about Bolden’s recruitment, given he’s one of the top prospects in this cycle.

An expert weighs in on five-star KJ Bolden, who just officially visited Syracuse football.

Bolden has received more than 40 scholarship offers throughout his recruiting process. His offer sheet includes the Orange, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Arkansas, Boston College, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Southern California and West Virginia, among others.

Brown, most recently, was the defensive backs coach at Georgia. Adam Friedman, a national analyst with Rivals.com, notes in an article this week that while Bolden is verbally pledged to the Seminoles, several other teams are trying to flip him.

Friedman writes, “Syracuse just hosted Bolden for an official visit but the Orange are unlikely to be a real contender for his commitment. The story here though is how close Bolden became with new Syracuse head coach and former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown. Bolden and Brown were in constant communication while Brown was coaching in Athens and the Bulldogs aren’t backing down, even without Brown on staff anymore. Auburn is a major player for Bolden after hosting him for an unofficial visit last week. The Tigers could be the team to watch as Bolden tries to find some clarity before National Signing Day.”

I’ve come across a few other recent reports that suggest Florida State is likely still in the “lead” for Bolden, but others such as Auburn and Georgia are continuing to push hard for him.

Bolden, a standout senior at Buford High School in Buford, Ga., near Atlanta, is scheduled to officially visit Florida State on December 15. He’s also conducted recent in-home visits with FSU, Auburn and Georgia.

The country’s No. 1 safety in the 2024 class, Bolden is good friends with 2024 four-star edge KingJoseph Edwards, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound player out of Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Ga.

Edwards, a top-300 overall player per ESPN, also took an official visit to Syracuse football this past weekend. He has the ‘Cuse in his final three and plans to make a commitment announcement on December 19.

At present, multiple analyst predictions have been logged in the Orange’s direction for Edwards between the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com and the On3 Web site.

Should Edwards commit to Syracuse football, could that help the ‘Cuse coaching staff land Bolden? Perhaps. Although for now, the Orange winning out for Bolden appears to be a long shot.