Don't Sleep on Slade Bolden's Ability to Deliver in Clutch Situations

Alabama junior receiver hasn't gotten much respect, but he's proven to be a solid option in his career.

DALLAS – There's been a lot of discussion over the last several weeks as to which one of the younger Alabama receivers will pick up the slack for the injured veteran John Metchie in Friday’s Cotton Bowl game against Cincinnati.

Ja’Corey Brooks, the Iron Bowl hero, was mentioned as an option. Traeshon Holden and speedster JoJo Earle, too.

Why not Slade Bolden?

He is, after all, the third starting receiver for the top-ranked Crimson Tide. It seems the junior is used to being overlooked when it comes to being an option.

“Yeah, I try not to think about it,” said Bolden, who is third on the team with 333 receiving yards with two touchdowns. “But there's a lot of people, you know, when I was getting recruited, said that I would never play at Alabama, that I never should have come to Alabama. And then I started playing, and then, ‘oh, he'll never start.’ And then I started. So yeah, there's always something else, you know, he'll never do this or that, but it's OK because I enjoy it.”

Granted, Bolden is not the same type of receiver as the other two starters, Metchie and Jameson Williams. They both have more than 1,000 yards and a combined 15 touchdowns.

But when it comes to reliability, Bolden has been a solid option. It’s why he played alongside Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and Metchie last season. It’s the reason he’s a starter this season.

“Slade has had an outstanding year,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He's a very consistent, dependable player in so many ways. He's an outstanding special teams player. He does a really good job for us in the passing game. He plays with toughness. He's a really good competitor.

“He's made a lot of key catches for us throughout the season. And there's no reason to think that he won't have some opportunities to do the same thing in this game.”

One of the key catches Saban mentioned was in the SEC Championship Game, where Bolden caught a season-high five passes for 54 yards. In the fourth quarter, Bolden snagged an off-target Bryce Young pass on a big third-down play to keep the drive alive and pretty much end any chance at a Georgia comeback.

Four of his five receptions came after Metchie left the game with an injury.

It should not come as a surprise. This isn’t the first time Bolden had to step up his game after Alabama lost a receiver to injury. He caught a career-high six passes for 94 yards against Tennessee last season after stepping in for Jaylen Waddle, who was injured on the opening kickoff.

One of the younger receivers will start Friday alongside Bolden and Jameson Williams. It’s just a matter of which one.

“I feel like a lot of those guys have done a good job,” Bolden said. “They've all improved throughout the season from the beginning. They've seen firsthand that all it takes is one guy to go down and the next guy needs to step up.

“Anything can happen, and everyone has to be ready. I feel like that's kind of got these guys going a little bit more because now they know that anything ‑‑ if there was something to happen, the next guy can be up, so they've got to be ready. But they've done a good job with that."