Miami’s pass defense has been inconsistent at times through the first four games of the 2019 season, but there is reason for optimism.

UM’s secondary figures to get a boost in talent and depth with the addition of an eligible Bubba Bolden.

Bolden will be eligible to play for the Hurricanes when UM takes the field again on October 5th against Virginia Tech.

“It will be great to have Bubba back for Virginia Tech,” Diaz said last week on Hurricane Hotline. “It has been hard on Bubba because we thought he was going to play against Florida and we found out the day before no. Then we weren’t sure on North Carolina and the day before that day it was no. At least when they told us that day, we found out it wasn’t going to be until Virginia Tech.”

Bolden, a player who transferred from USC, figures to provide a boost to Miami’s secondary when he gets on the field.

As a high school prospect, Bolden was regarded as one of the top safety recruits in the country, ranking as the No. 59 overall player in the country in the 2017 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Soon after he arrived at UM in August, Bolden shared what his style of safety is.

“I feel like I am very versatile,” Bolden said. “I can cover and I can come up and hit. I can play in the box. Wherever I play at, I feel like I can contribute to the team.”

Through the first four games of the season, Miami’s top three safeties—Amari Carter, Gurvan Hall, and Robert Knowles—have combined to allow 13 receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown. The trio has only missed three tackles on the year.

Bolden made it clear at UM’s media day in August that he is also perfectly willing to be a special teams participant if the coaching staff wants to use him in that role.

“I want to be a special teams guy,” Bolden said. “I did that at USC and I feel like that is the easiest way for me to get on the field and the easiest way to make some plays. If I can show what I can do on special teams, hopefully it can help me get more snaps on defense if the coaches like what they see.”

Even though Bolden arrived close to two weeks into fall camp, he felt like Miami’s defensive system wasn’t going to be tough to pick up.

“The system is pretty simple that Miami runs—and that is by design—so that all the players can just play fast, which I like,” Bolden said. “It helps us make more plays.”

Soon after he arrived at UM, cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph talked about what the addition of Bolden to the safety room can mean to Miami’s defense.

“We need to have a good amount of defensive backs on special teams,” Rumph said. “The boys could feel his presence on the field because here is another guy that they need to beat out. He is going to add all those elements and make us way better on the back end.”