Miami Hurricanes safety Bubba Bolden will be ready for season

Miami Hurricanes co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ephraim Banda told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald on Tuesday that redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden will be ready for the 2020 season.

Miami Hurricanes redshirt junior safety Bubba Bolden missed the final four games of 2019 after suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Florida State in November. Bolden missed four practices in March but was expected to return for the second half of spring practice before it was canceled. Bolden will be ready for training camp.

Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ephraim Banda told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald on Tuesday that Bolden is healthy and ready for the 2020 season. Banda discussed Bolden’s recovery, what he provides Miami in the back end of the defense and the different skills he provides from the other safeties.

"“He was recovering at a very fast pace and really probably for sure we would have got him the second half of spring…He’ll be 100 percent ready to go for sure. We were just starting to see that glimpse of him last year, how good a player he can be. He’s much taller, longer than [safeties Gurvan Hall and Amari Carter].Really does a great job with his hips, covering a lot of ground, and does it deceptively with how long he is. The sky is the limit for a guy like Bubba Bolden. With a full season and off-season, him getting comfortable we’ll see even bigger improvement out of him next year.”"

Bolden had 11 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble in five games for the Miami Hurricanes in 2019. Bolden sat out the first four games of the season after transferring from USC. In his fifth game playing for Miami, Bolden suffered a season-ending ankle injury celebrating an interception against Florida State.

The best game for Bolden in 2019 came against Pittsburgh in his fourth game with the Hurricanes. Bolden had four tackles and one forced fumble against the Panthers. Bolden will have a chance to compete for a starting safety position with Gurvan Hall and Amari Carter in 2019.

Hall leads Miami returnees in 2020 with 66 tackles in 2019 and added 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Carter had 37 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one sack, one pass breakup and a fumble recovery. At 6’3, Bolden gives Miami a bit more length than the 6’2 Carter and 6’0 Hall.

The Hurricanes’ depth at safety is exceptional with those three. They all bring different skill sets in the secondary. Hall has proven the ability to make plays, Carter is a vicious hitter and Bolden is an excellent ball tracker in the back of the defense. The Miami secondary should be improved in 2020.