The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 6-3 • 230 • Linebacker • Colerain High School • Cincinnati JOE BOLDEN ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ was born on Aug. 19, 1993, in Cincin- nati … Has already enrolled at Michi- gan … Hails from the same high school as former Michigan tight end Eric Kattus (1982-85) and former U-M running back B.J. Askew (1999-2002) … Coached by his uncle, Tom Bolden, who played at Wittenberg (Ohio) … His father, Dan, played at Hanover Personal: Joseph Daniel Bolden Joe Bolden "That's one of the reasons I came in early, to get in and get my body in shape to play Big Ten football. I've gained three pounds [in a month], and I don't think it's fat." College and is Colerain's athletics di- rector … Enjoys hanging out with his family, studying and hanging out with friends … Likes to fish in his spare time. Rankings: Ranked as a four-star early enrollees have been here since the semester started. They're doing a great job from an academic stand- point. Just talking with the winter conditioning people, the three are doing a tremendous job there." Tom Lemming of Prep Football Re- prospect, the No. 7 recruit in Ohio, the No. 7 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 111 overall player nationally by Rivals.com … Rated as a four-star recruit, the No. 5 player in Ohio, the No. 5 inside line- backer nationally and the No. 142 overall player in the land by ESPN. com … Listed as the No. 19 inside linebacker prospect nationally by MaxPreps.com … Ranked as a four- star recruit, the No. 2 player in Ohio, the No. 3 inside linebacker in the country and the No. 59 overall pros- pect nationally by 247Sports.com … Tabbed as the No. 41 player in the Midwest by SuperPrep. Brady Hoke's Comments: "The ception returned for touchdown … Also ran for a touchdown and had two receiving scores out of the backfield in goal-line situations … Averaged 39 yards per kick as the team's punter … Associated Press first-team Division I All-Ohio … First-team all-conference and all-academic selection. Junior Season: Star ted and notched 47 solo tackles, 80 assists, 14 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions for a Colerain team that went 11-1 (7-0 in conference) and was ranked No. 4 in the state by MaxPreps.com … First-team all-con- ference and all-academic selection. Sophomore Season: Colerain fin- 10-2 (7-0 in conference) and ranked No. 10 in the state of Ohio by Max- Preps.com … Started and notched 52 solo tackles, 76 assists, 16 tackles for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one inter- eries and three interceptions (one returned for touchdown) in his four years on the varsity. Senior Season: Colerain finished Marr Woodley and Charles Woodson. Favorite Pro Player: Baltimore Ra- ACT Score: 24. Planned Major: Undecided. Favorite Michigan Athletes: La- vens linebacker Ray Lewis. Other Schools Considered: Ne- braska, Tennessee and Cincinnati. Date Of Official Visit To Michigan: Dec. 9, 2011. Why Bolden Chose Michigan: "The coaches, academics and the overall tradition of the football team. The sincerity of all the coaches and the personal connections they had with each and every player." Colerain Head Coach Tom Bold- en's Comments: "Being able to play here at Colerain as a freshman, that's pretty special to do. I knew the level of competition we were playing and how he was able to make some plays as a freshman … he wasn't afraid to stick his nose in there. We said, 'He'd better be good playing as the nephew of the head coach,' and he had a huge sophomore year. That's when we knew, 'We're going to be seeing big things from him.'" ished 8-2 (7-0 in the conference) … Started and notched 45 solo tack- les, 71 assists, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries … First-team all- conference and all-academic selec- tion. Freshman Season: Colerain went port: "He's a good-sized linebacker, a blue-collar guy with very impressive straight-ahead speed. He's tough as nails." Career Totals: Started three sea- sons at linebacker on the Colerain varsity and lettered as a freshman … Notched 159 solo tackles, 247 assists, 43 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recov- 11-2 overall (6-1 in conference) and was No. 4 in the state according to MaxPreps.com … Notched 15 solo tackles, 20 assists, one sack, two tack- les for loss and one forced fumble. All-Star Games And Camps: Cap- tained the East team at the Under Armour All-America Game Jan. 5 in St. Petersburg, Fla. … Named Rivals. com's "best tackler" in the game after notching seven stops … Attended the Irish Future's Camp at Notre Dame in 2010. Other Sports: Lettered three years in baseball. High School GPA: 3.94. Rivals.com rates Bolden as a four-star recruit, the No. 7 outside linebacker in the land and the No. 111 overall player in the class of 2012. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MARCH 2012 THE WOLVERINE 39