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KB Bonds
KB Bonds has found a new home.
The former Oglethorpe County multi-sport star recently finished his first season as a defensive lineman at Shorter University, a Division II program in Rome.
Bonds played all four years at OCHS, but despite his experience, his transition to college wasn’t the smoothest. He received an early wake-up call during film study.
“The first game, we had Sanford (and) I was watching film on the guys, and I was kind of dozing off,” he said. “As I watched the film, I kind of woke up and I’m looking and I see Georgia Bulldogs on the field. I’m like, ‘Man, these boys played Georgia,’ so I’m kind of nervous.”
The video was from Georgia’s 33-0 win over Sanford in 2022.
Bonds — who is 6-foot-1, 290 pounds — was suddenly faced with players far bigger than himself.
He said when he got his first opportunity, he felt the need to prove himself, but when the 6-7 offensive lineman came off the ball and hit him, he had his welcome-to-the-league moment and knew that “I can’t beat him with my old technique stuff.”
While Bonds saw the field as a freshman, the transition wasn’t smooth.
He no longer had a coach picking him up if he made a mistake. He no longer had a coach standing outside a classroom and telling him to watch film.
Instead, Bonds said he was treated “like a grown man” by his coaches and was held accountable when he didn’t meet his responsibilities.
“I had to adapt,” he said. “I started falling off and I got moved down the depth chart from being lazy. I went in thinking I’d walk in and get my spot, but I realized I had to work for it, and that’s what happened. During the last week of fall camp, I worked for it and moved up the depth chart a lot.”
Bonds played in nine games and finished with two solo tackles, eight total tackles, one-half sack and one-half tackle for loss.
He said he learned from players like graduate senior Bruce Guyton Jr. and senior defensive lineman Tony Bethea, and found himself comparing his stats to those of his teammates.
Bonds credited his coaches, notably associate head coach and defensive coordinator Harlen Jacobs and defensive line coach Azar Wilson for helping him grow as a player. Bonds said weekly conversations helped him prepare and adjust to the collegiate game.
“Those guys have been at big universities,” Bonds said. “Coach Wilson is coming from Alabama and Coach Jacobs played at Ohio State. They know the game (and) they’re not only trying to teach you your position, they’re trying to teach you the game. They want you to know what everybody on the field is doing, not just what you got to do.”
Bonds has set simple goals for next season: Grow as a leader and simply get better.
“I got to get better, honestly,” he said. “So many NFL scouts are at practice, and they make you (think) my dream is so close, and I want to achieve it. So, all I want to do is get better and work harder day by day.”