Sophomore S Bubba Bolden has had a long road to get to this point.
After getting his feet wet as a backup with 8 tackles in his 2017 true freshman season for USC, Bolden was expected to start at safety for the Trojans heading into 2018. Instead, Bolden sat out during the 2018 season after being suspended by the school for an incident at a party. Despite later being reinstated by USC, Bolden announced in January he would transfer to Miami and was expected to be eligible to play from the jump for the Hurricanes during the 2019 season.
However, he found his path to the field at UM also filled with obstacles. Bolden was blocked from officially enrolling at Miami by the NCAA until mid-August, about two weeks before the season-opener against the Florida Gators. Then, the day before the UF game, the worst news yet came in: Bolden was ineligible to play in UM’s first 4 games of the season.
No, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan lately for the Las Vegas native. Still, through it all, Bolden has done his best to keep an upbeat mindset.
"It's been kind of stressful, it’s been like that for the past year," Bolden said of his situation. "I got the decision the day before, I was a bit upset. But I've been coming out here positive every day, trying to see what I can do… I've supported my team, watched them. I come in every day with a positive attitude and try to work."
At long last, Bolden will step back onto the football field for an actual collegiate game: he has been cleared by the NCAA and will play in Miami’s upcoming showdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies this weekend.
It doesn’t sound like he will take his second chance for granted.
“I'm super excited, blessed to be out here," Bolden said. “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to be out here and play with my teammates… It's going to be a lot of emotions. I'm just going to go out there and do my job."
While the potential Bolden possesses is through the roof, the 6-3 200 pound prospect is expected to be slowly eased into action this weekend; after all, he hasn’t played in a real game in nearly 2 years.
"They have me on some special teams and, throughout the game, I’ll probably get in here and there (at safety)," Bolden said. “I think I can provide a lot - I’ve got experience playing, I’m an older guy. I really know the game, know concepts.”
In his time off, how has Bolden been preparing for his eventual return?
“I’ve been preparing in different ways,” Bolden began. “The past two weeks when we weren’t playing (a game), I’ve been playing scout team trying to get my boys better. Before that, I was just really learning the playbook, just catching up on what I missed out on this summer.”
A big part of his decision to come to Miami was the presence of his former teammates from Bishop Gorman on the Hurricanes’. Along with Tate Martell and Brevin Jordan, Bolden aims to bring a west coast vibe to Coral Gables, and even though the trio each had very different roads to end up at Miami, the sentiment shared between them is the same.
“They bring a lot of energy, bring a lot of love,” Bolden said of Martell and Jordan.
“I just feel at home again.”
After getting his feet wet as a backup with 8 tackles in his 2017 true freshman season for USC, Bolden was expected to start at safety for the Trojans heading into 2018. Instead, Bolden sat out during the 2018 season after being suspended by the school for an incident at a party. Despite later being reinstated by USC, Bolden announced in January he would transfer to Miami and was expected to be eligible to play from the jump for the Hurricanes during the 2019 season.
However, he found his path to the field at UM also filled with obstacles. Bolden was blocked from officially enrolling at Miami by the NCAA until mid-August, about two weeks before the season-opener against the Florida Gators. Then, the day before the UF game, the worst news yet came in: Bolden was ineligible to play in UM’s first 4 games of the season.
No, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan lately for the Las Vegas native. Still, through it all, Bolden has done his best to keep an upbeat mindset.
"It's been kind of stressful, it’s been like that for the past year," Bolden said of his situation. "I got the decision the day before, I was a bit upset. But I've been coming out here positive every day, trying to see what I can do… I've supported my team, watched them. I come in every day with a positive attitude and try to work."
At long last, Bolden will step back onto the football field for an actual collegiate game: he has been cleared by the NCAA and will play in Miami’s upcoming showdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies this weekend.
It doesn’t sound like he will take his second chance for granted.
“I'm super excited, blessed to be out here," Bolden said. “I’m blessed to have the opportunity to be out here and play with my teammates… It's going to be a lot of emotions. I'm just going to go out there and do my job."
While the potential Bolden possesses is through the roof, the 6-3 200 pound prospect is expected to be slowly eased into action this weekend; after all, he hasn’t played in a real game in nearly 2 years.
"They have me on some special teams and, throughout the game, I’ll probably get in here and there (at safety)," Bolden said. “I think I can provide a lot - I’ve got experience playing, I’m an older guy. I really know the game, know concepts.”
In his time off, how has Bolden been preparing for his eventual return?
“I’ve been preparing in different ways,” Bolden began. “The past two weeks when we weren’t playing (a game), I’ve been playing scout team trying to get my boys better. Before that, I was just really learning the playbook, just catching up on what I missed out on this summer.”
A big part of his decision to come to Miami was the presence of his former teammates from Bishop Gorman on the Hurricanes’. Along with Tate Martell and Brevin Jordan, Bolden aims to bring a west coast vibe to Coral Gables, and even though the trio each had very different roads to end up at Miami, the sentiment shared between them is the same.
“They bring a lot of energy, bring a lot of love,” Bolden said of Martell and Jordan.
“I just feel at home again.”
