How good can Bubba Bolden be at Miami? Just ask the St. Thomas Aquinas team he tormented
It’s an inevitability for the trash talk in the Miami Hurricanes’ locker room to eventually shift to talk of players’ high school matchups. The most legendary of the bunch might be the 2016 game between Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Bishop Gorman, the powerhouse from Las Vegas.
Mike Harley and Al Blades Jr. were both key cogs for the Raiders. Tate Martell, Brevin Jordan and Bubba Bolden were three of the best players for the Gaels. The game went to triple overtime before Bishop Gorman finally pulled out the win in Las Vegas. Bolden was probably the biggest reason.
“I said, ‘If it wasn’t for you, we would’ve beat y’all,’” Harley said. “’We would’ve upset y’all.’”
It would be understandable for Harley to still have nightmares about what Bolden did when the two met in Vegas. Bolden, who was a top-50 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, picked off two passes and blocked a potential game-winning field goal in double overtime. One of those interceptions came when Harley tried to sneak a throw past the defensive back to fellow wide receiver Trevon Grimes on a trick play.
On Saturday, Bolden and Harley will finally be on the field at Hard Rock Stadium as teammates. Bolden, who transferred to Miami (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) in the offseason, was cleared by the NCAA to make his debut against the Virginia Tech Hokies and is listed on the Hurricanes’ two-deep depth chart as a backup safety.
He has the potential to be much more than just a reserve.
“I’ve never seen a playmaker on defense. On offense, you have playmakers that you put the ball in their hand,” Harley said. “Now on defense I’ve never seen a playmaker since high school. You know, you’ve got a couple guys that make interceptions, make tackles, but that guy’s special. He’s like a sore thumb. He stands out.”
Bolden was one of the most highly coveted prospects in the Class of 2017 and signed with the Southern California Trojans as a consensus four-star safety.
The safety barely lasted a year in Los Angeles. Early in 2018, Bolden was involved in an incident at an off-campus party. In the summer before Bolden’s sophomore season, Southern California suspended the defensive back for 28 months. He withdrew in the fall and spent the start of 2019 at a junior college. Although USC eventually reinstated him, Bolden opted for a fresh start in Coral Gables and orally committed to the Hurricanes in January.
Bolden finally arrived on campus in August, shortly after the start of fall camp. The redshirt sophomore began practicing a few days later and earned a spot on Miami’s two-deep depth chart ahead of the Hurricanes’ season-opening loss to the then-No. 8 Florida Gators later in the month, but found out the day before Miami kicked off in Orlando he wouldn’t be able to play in any of the Hurricanes’ first four games.
“It’s been kind of stressful. It’s been like that for the past year, but I’ve been coming out here positive every day, just trying to see what I can do,” Bolden said. “I was a bit upset, but I got to go out there and support my team. ... I just come in every day with a positive attitude.”
Before his playing career spent more than a year hanging in limbo, Bolden looked like the rising star he was projected to be. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete was named a starter for the Trojans before he was suspended. He possesses elite length for a defensive back and had a reputation as a reliable tackler, too.
His length gives Miami a new dimension at safety. The Hurricanes have almost exclusively leaned on Amari Carter, Robert Knowles and Gurvan Hall as their three safeties, all of whom fit the more traditional build. Bolden looks like a lanky cornerback.
“Bubba adds a lot of range,” defensive coordinator Blake Baker said Monday. “He has phenomenal ball skills, but he’s a long guy that can run. He’ll cover a lot of ground.”
His tackling ability, however, will determine how much he plays this weekend in Miami Gardens.
None of the Hurricanes’ coaches have committed to a defensive snap count or anything similar for Bolden against Virginia Tech, although Baker said he expects the safety to get in and at least provide depth.
In Miami’s secondary, Bolden’s physical tools are unmatched, but he hasn’t played a game in nearly two years. How Bolden handles some of the simplest aspects of the game will determine how much he’s on the field Saturday.
“Bubba’s reps will be completely 100 percent a result of how he tackles. If Bubba tackles, Bubba will play,” safeties coach Ephraim Banda said. “Bubba knows that and he’s done a good job of it, but at the same time he hasn’t played in a college football game in a long time. Everyone — including myself and every fan, and every person with a camera right now — wants Bubba to play and I get it, but we’re never going to change our philosophy of what gets you on the field at University of Miami on defense. You will tackle, you will play. If you don’t tackle, you won’t play.
“I know Bubba’s super intelligent, I know he’s a really good athlete, I know he’s got good foot speed, I know he’ll be in the right area at the right place, but I’ve got to see him tackle and if he does that he’ll play a bunch, and if he doesn’t everyone will know why.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 1:17 PM.