CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The celebratory hit that Miami safety Bubba Bolden took from a teammate during the win over Florida State was a costly one for the Hurricanes.
Bolden will miss the remainder of the Hurricanes’ season because of an injury that happened shortly after he made a third-quarter interception of a deflected pass Saturday in the 27-10 win at Florida State.
Bolden caught the pass thrown by Florida State’s Alex Hornibrook near midfield, got up and sprinted a few yards. A few seconds later, things went wrong when Miami teammate and fellow safety Gurvan Hall leaped and crashed into Bolden — who landed awkwardly and sustained what appeared to be an ankle injury.
“We will not have Bubba for the rest of the year,” Miami coach Manny Diaz said Monday. “Unfortunately, he’ll be out for the season, which is tough on our defense because he was really, really starting to play at a very high level. We’ll have to do what we always do. We’ll rely on the depth we have at the safety position and move on.”
Bolden, who missed the first four games of the season while awaiting NCAA clearance following his transfer from USC, appeared in five games for Miami (5-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). He had 11 tackes, a pass breakup and the interception.
“Thank you to everyone for reaching out and sending prayers,” Bolden wrote on Twitter.
Miami defensive coordinator Blake Baker said Bolden was becoming a bigger part of the Hurricanes’ game plan each week.
“Losing him, especially the way we lost him, is very unfortunate,” Baker said. “It’s just one of those freak deals. It wasn’t intentional. I don’t foresee it being an issue. I’m sure Gurvan feels bad about it but at the same time, like I said, it’s one of those freak deals that nobody means to do.”
Miami plays host to Louisville on Saturday, the Hurricanes’ home finale for 2019.