Bolden lines up two more visits

The more we see of Ontario (Calif.) Colony athlete Omar Bolden, the more confident we are that he should be considered among the top 10 players in the state. Bolden has already taken one visit and has two more set up for later this month.

Just how good an athlete is Bolden? The 6-0, 200 pound two way star could be rated as a top five corner, safety or running back prospect in the state this year.

At USC's skills camp last summer, many onlookers called Bolden the best looking athlete in the camp, a camp that also featured Louisiana star Joe McKnight, who could be the nation's top skill player this year.

Bolden plays both running back and safety but his best college position could be cornerback. On the year, he has rushed for 1,746 yards and 22 touchdowns to go with 57 tackles, three sacks and two blocked punts.

"I honestly don't have a preference where I play in college," Bolden said. "Just about everyone is recruiting me as an athlete and I think it would be fun to actually play on both sides of the ball in college.

"USC is really the only school that has specified where they want me, they like me as a corner, everyone has said athlete. I just want to get on the field and will play whatever gets me on the field the fastest."

On the recruiting front, Bolden took an official visit to UTEP (Nov. 4) and has two visits lined up for later this month.

"UTEP was great, I really liked it a lot," Bolden said. "They treated me great and I just had a home visit with Coach Price earlier tonight. I could definitely see myself playing football there, I honestly loved everything about that place.

"Coach Akey from Washington State came over this past Tuesday and I'm taking a visit there (Dec. 8). Coach Akey is great, he's so enthusiastic and he really did a nice job of selling the program to me.

"On (Dec. 15), I'm taking a visit to Nebraska. I have a couple of coaches who are helping me out with the recruiting process and they actually set that one up for me. To be honest, I've never even talked to Nebraska but they said they wanted me to visit and asked what I thought and I said, 'sure that would be great.' I know they have great tradition there so I'm looking forward to seeing what it's all about there.

"I don't have any visits set for January right now, I'm just keeping everything open. Washington is coming in for a home visit next week and I may set something up with them but I'm not sure. I'm already going to Washington State on a visit and I don't know if I want to take two trips to the same state but we'll see.

"Oregon State is another school I like a lot and may take a visit there. USC is still high on my list and I just sent them my transcripts. They said if my grades look good, they're going to offer. I've really worked hard on my grades and I'm on track to qualify, no doubt in my mind that I'm going to make it.

"Right now, I just really want to focus on our last two playoff games. We play tomorrow night (Friday) in a CIF semifinal game and after we win, we'll play next Friday for the championship. That may sound cocky but you have to be confident in your ability and I believe in our team. Once playoffs are done, then I'm going to focus on my visit and will get everything squared away."