Recruiting ROI, No. 19: Curtis Bolton
Every Tuesday and Thursday, SI Sooners will unveil a new installment in the Recruiting ROI series. Over the course of ten weeks, the series will examine 20 Sooners over the last 20 years who dramatically exceeded expectations in the crimson and cream.
It's admittedly tough to look back on 2018 and recall anything other than Kyler Murray's single wondrous season as Oklahoma's starting quarterback.
But Curtis Bolton's banner year stands as perhaps one of the most unforeseen, expectation-shattering campaigns in Sooners history.
After all, the redshirt senior linebacker had missed all but four games the previous year with an ankle injury. Over the 2015-17 seasons, Bolton had appeared in just 20 games and recorded 16 tackles, the vast majority of which came on special teams.
As a high schooler, Bolton was far from a blue-chip prospect. A native of Murrieta, CA, he earned a modest 3-star rating, and ranked well outside the national top 500. Oklahoma's biggest commits on the California recruiting circuit in the class of 2014 were running back Joe Mixon and wideouts Michiah Quick and Dallis Todd. At best, Bolton looked like a developmental project with long odds to ever become a household name among the OU faithful.
Coming into 2018, Sooner Nation was buzzing with anticipation over Murray, who stood ready to take the reins of the offense after Baker Mayfield's departure. Everyone expected a quantum leap in production from the lightning-rod quarterback, who'd already flashed his brilliance in mop-up duty. But no one could have expected a similarly explosive emergence from an unheralded inside linebacker.
Bolton burst onto the scene in the Sooners' opener against Florida Atlantic, recording six tackles and a special-teams touchdown on a blocked punt. From there, the man who came to be known as "Buzzy" never looked back.
He and budding superstar Kenneth Murray established themselves as one of the country's most feared defensive duos. The two complemented each other's styles flawlessly: Murray the lengthy, agile attacker, Bolton the hard-nosed, compact wrecking ball. In an overtime thriller against Army, they combined for a ridiculous 51 tackles.
Week in and week out, Bolton continued to fly all over the field with reckless abandon: 16 tackles and a fumble recovery in a win over Baylor, 13 tackles and a sack against Texas, eight tackles and a half-sack versus Oklahoma State.
Then, as the Sooners hit the home stretch with a College Football Playoff berth in sight, Bolton kicked it into another gear. Against Kansas on Nov. 17, he returned a blocked punt nine yards for a game-sealing touchdown.
Six days later at West Virginia, the Sooners found themselves clinging to a 52-49 fourth-quarter lead until Bolton stepped in. He scooped up a Will Grier fumble and rambled 48 yards to paydirt for a crucial score, and OU would escape in a 59-56 thriller.
Next up was the much-ballyhooed Red River rematch. Texas had shattered the Sooners' dreams of a perfect season with a 48-45 victory at the Cotton Bowl in October. Yet now, eight weeks later, the two rivals met again at AT&T Stadium for the Big 12 title.
Bolton led the Sooners with 10 tackles as Oklahoma exacted revenge, toppling the Longhorns 39-27.
In his final collegiate game, Bolton recorded nine tackles and a half-sack against Alabama in a 45-34 Orange Bowl loss. On the season, he accumulated an eye-popping 139 total tackles, plus 4.5 sacks and three touchdowns. He wasn't selected in the 2019 NFL Draft, but the Green Bay Packers quickly scooped him up as an undrafted free agent.
Then, against all odds, Bolton shot up the Packers' depth chart throughout training camp. He appeared to be in prime position to start in Week 1 as a rookie, but a torn ACL in Green Bay's third preseason game brought an unceremonious halt to a meteoric rise.
Bolton is no guarantee to make the Packers' 53-man roster in 2020, especially on a surgically repaired knee. Fortunately for him, it won't be the first time he's had to fight to see the field. It's a reality he's become quite acquainted with.
And if his time in Norman is any indication, Bolton is well accustomed to the waiting game. The opportunity to make his mark in the NFL may not come easy, and it may not come immediately.
But when that opportunity arises, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone as ready for the moment as Curtis Bolton.
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