Brandon Bolden
 Bolden with the New England Patriots | |||||||||||||||
| No. 38 New England Patriots | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | January 26, 1990 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Baton Rouge (LA) Scotlandville | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Mississippi | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2016 | |||||||||||||||
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Brandon Bolden (born January 26, 1990) is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).[1]
Early life
Bolden attended Scotlandville Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a senior, Bolden rushed for 886 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to being named First Team All-District 5-5A. He also caught 12 passes for 256 yards. SuperPrep named him SuperPrep All-Region and ranked him the No. 34 best player in Louisiana. Bolden was named the No. 93 best running back in the nation by Scout.com. He was heavily recruited by Les Miles and LSU, but ultimately decided to play for Houston Nutt at Ole Miss.[1]
College career
Although fellow running back Enrique Davis was much more regarded as a recruit, by his sophomore year, Bolden had gained the starting role for the Rebels. In the disappointing 2010 season, Bolden was one of the Rebels' bright spots, averaging nearly six yards a carry. Against BYU in the first game of the 2011 season, Bolden suffered a broken ankle. Although the fracture was a minor one and he only missed a few games, he never returned to his previous form. He was not selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, although some sites predicted he might be drafted in one of the later rounds.[2] Although Bleacher Report reported on April 30, 2012, that he had agreed to a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins, Bolden later tweeted that the report was false. On May 2, 2012, a New York Times blog reported that he had signed a free agent deal with the New England Patriots.
Professional career
New England Patriots
2012 season
During the preseason, Bolden had 36 carries for 128 yards and caught four passes, but fumbled the ball twice, losing one. Nevertheless, at the end of training camp, the New England Patriots elected to keep Bolden on their 53-man roster, rather than try and place him on their practice squad.
Bolden made his first start against the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. He scored his first touchdown in the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens; in Week 4, he led the New England Patriots with 137 yards on just 16 carries—an average of 8.6 yards per carry. He scored one touchdown and also added an 11-yard reception. He and Stevan Ridley, who had 106 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, became the first Patriots running backs to accrue 100 rushing yards in the same game since 1982. Moreover, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski had 100-yard games that day as well, making the four only the second such quartet of two 100-yard rushers and two 100-yard receivers in a single game for the same team.
For his efforts, Bolden was named the NFL's FedEx Ground Player of the Week for Week 4.[3]
On November 9, 2012, Bolden was suspended four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.[4]
2013 season
Bolden was active for 12 of the Patriots games and finished the year with 271 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns and an impressive 4.9 yards per carry; he also had 152 receiving yards.[5]
2014 season
On January 9, 2015, Bolden was signed to a 2-year extension by the Patriots.[6]
Bolden was a part of the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX championship team when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.
2015 season
Bolden played a significant role in helping the Patriots get out to a strong start. On Oct. 18, against the Indianapolis Colts, Bolden snuffed out a fake punt late in the third quarter to help the Patriots to a 34-27 win and a 5-0 start.[7] Three weeks later, Bolden caught his first touchdown pass, an 18-yarder from Tom Brady, against the Washington Redskins. On November 29, Bolden caught his second touchdown pass on a 63-yard catch-and-run in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
Personal life
Brandon is married to his high school sweetheart, Arianna King. They gave birth to their first child, Brycen on May 2, 2011. Brandon's grandfather Frank Pitts was a wide receiver who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl IV.[8][9]
References
- 1 2 "#34 Brandon Bolden Biography". olemisssports.com. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ↑ "Brandon Bolden | Mississippi, RB : 2012 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". Nfldraftscout.com. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
- ↑ "FedEx Players Air and Ground". NFL.com. 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
- ↑ "Patriots rookie RB Bolden suspended four games". Yahoo! Sports. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
- ↑ "Brandon Bolden Stats - New England Patriots". Espn.go.com. 1990-01-26. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
- ↑ Yates, Field (2015-01-09). "Patriots sign Brandon Bolden to extension". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
- ↑ Bowers, Rachel G. (2015-10-19). "Colts' attempt at trick play goes horribly wrong". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
- ↑ Reiss, Mike. "Football journey: Brandon Bolden". Patriots Blog. ESPN Boston. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ↑ Blog, KC Chiefs. "Around The Web: Replacing TG, Krumrie Runs, Chiefs Bloodlines In SEC". Retrieved 2012-09-22.