| Rob Bolden |
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Rob Bolden quickly showed Nittany Nation last year he has all the tools to be a difference-maker at the quarterback position and is excited for preseason camp and the opportunity to resume his progress. The Beaver Stadium faithful got a glimpse of his potential greatness in Bolden's rookie campaign when he became the first Penn State true freshman to start at quarterback in 100 years. In directing the season-opening win over Youngstown State, Bolden was 20-of-29 for 239 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception in a 44-14 victory, delivering the best performance by a true freshman quarterback in school history. He tossed 22- and 20-yard touchdown strikes to Brett Brackett and shared the inaugural Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors for his performance. The starting signal-caller in eight games last year, he demonstrated his exceptional athleticism, strong arm and superb instincts, throwing for 1,360 yards and seven touchdowns. Poised in the huddle and in the pocket, Bolden is very strong fundamentally and mechanically at an early stage in his career. He can make all the throws with pinpoint accuracy and his vision, awareness and anticipation allows him to evade the rush and sprint for yardage on the ground when needed. Bolden and Matt McGloin finished spring drills as the top candidates to grab ahold of the quarterback assignment and they will resume their competition in August. Bolden's great uncle is former Alabama All-America cornerback Don McNeal.
2010 Freshman Season
Bolden arrived on campus in May 2010 and won the quarterback job in preseason camp. He became the first Penn State true freshman to start at quarterback in 100 years, with Shorty Miller in 1910 the last to do so. In directing the season-opening win over Youngstown State, Bolden was 20-of-29 for 239 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception in a 44-14 victory, the best performance by a true freshman quarterback in school history. He tossed 22- and 20-yard touchdown strikes to Brett Brackett and shared the inaugural Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors for his performance. He also became Penn State's first true freshman starting quarterback overall since Wally Richardson got the nod against Temple in 1992. For the season, Bolden was 112-of-193 (58.0) for 1,360 yards, with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He delivered four 200-yard passing efforts in the initial five games. In his first career road game, he threw for 144 yards in a 24-3 loss to No. 1 Alabama. He completed a 31-yard pass to Derek Moye in the first quarter against the Crimson Tide. Bolden became the first Penn State true freshman quarterback to have multiple 200-yard passing games in the 24-0 win over Kent State. He was 17-of-27 for 217 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, including a 55-yard strike to Moye. Bolden also gained 33 yards on just four carries, including a one-yard touchdown run and a 17-yard rush, against the Golden Flashes. He also threw a 48-yard scoring strike to Devon Smith. Bolden delivered his third 200-yard passing effort in the 22-13 win over Temple. He was 18-of-28 for 223 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions and directed the Nittany Lions to 439 yards. He led the team on a 96-yard drive in the fourth quarter, culminated by a Michael Zordich touchdown with 3:25 to play for the final margin. The scoring drive was Penn State's longest for yards since a 96-yard drive against Indiana in 2003. Bolden recorded his fourth 200-yard passing game in the first five contests, going 20-of-37 for 212 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception in the Big Ten-opener at Iowa. He completed a 49-yard pass to Brackett to set up a field goal just before halftime. Against Illinois, Bolden threw an 80-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to Moye, Penn State's longest play from scrimmage since the 2008 Michigan game. Bolden was sizzling to start the contest at Minnesota, completing his first nine passes for 115 yards, including a 21-yard scoring strike to Brackett just 4:41 into the game. But, in the second quarter, after directing Penn State to a 14-7 lead, Bolden was injured and did not return, going 11-of-13 for 130 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He did not see any action against Michigan, one week after being injured at Minnesota. Bolden started the Northwestern game and was 3-of-4 for 43 yards, including a 20-yard completion to Stephfon Green and a 19-yard completion to Evan Royster. He played in the first two series against the Wildcats. Bolden entered the Ohio State game in the fourth quarter and was 0-of-3 passing. He entered the Indiana game in the fourth quarter and went 2-of-2 for 10 yards. Bolden was on the field for 407 plays, topped by 74 in the win over Temple.
High School
Bolden was a four-star recruit for Coach George Porritt at Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep. He was ranked as the nation's fourth-best quarterback by ESPN.com and the second-best dual-threat signal-caller by Rivals.com. Bolden completed 72-of-152 passes for 1,013 yards and seven touchdowns, while running for 535 yards and nine scores in his senior campaign, in which he led St. Mary's to the state finals. A team captain, he earned all-district and all-city accolades. He totaled more than 2,000 yards passing and 14 touchdowns, while rushing for over 1,000 yards and 16 scores in his final two high school seasons. Bolden was a three-year member of the basketball team and a four-year member of the track team.
Personal
Full name is Robert Craig Bolden Jr. He is the son of Robert Bolden Sr. and Latonia Williams. He has one younger sister, Paris. His great uncle is former Alabama All-America cornerback Don McNeal, who was an NFL first-round draft choice in 1980, playing 10 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. In his spare time, Bolden enjoys bowling and playing the drums. Born February 20, 1992.
