This is quite the unexpected turn of events.
Thanks in part to Ykili Ross’ decision to transfer from USC earlier this week, Bubba Bolden had nailed down the Trojans’ starting strong safety job ahead of this weekend’s opener. However, Bolden was not at practice Thursday afternoon and, afterward, Clay Helton announced the true sophomore will be “unavailable” for Saturday’s game against UNLV.
Other than a vague “personal matter,” the head coach did not give a specific reason for Bolden’s unavailability or when the defensive back might return to the team.
Starting safety Bubba Bolden will not be available for USC's season opener on Saturday due to a personnel matter, Clay Helton said. Bolden was not at practice Thursday. "There's no timetable for his return and I cannot comment further," Helton said.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) August 31, 2018
With Bolden sidelined, redshirt freshman Isaiah Pola-Mao will start in his place.
Bolden was a four-star member of the Trojans’ 2017 recruiting class, rated as the No. 7 safety in the country and the No. 3 player at any position in the state of Nevada on 247Sports.com‘s composite board. As a true freshman last season, Bolden appeared in 13 of the Trojans’ 14 games.