USC, Arizona State's Omar Bolden downplay flap

Bolden will start at cornerback for Arizona State when the Sun Devils face the No. 8-ranked Trojans at the Coliseum. The sophomore ranks among the most promising young defensive players in the Pacific 10 Conference, but people in Southern California might know him better for an incident off the field.

"Honestly," he protests, "I was just trying to do something different."

Something that upset a few Trojans fans.

In early 2007, Bolden was a prized recruit at Ontario Colony High. He announced his choice of schools -- as so many players do -- on television. With family and friends gathered around, he placed three caps on the desk in front of him: Washington, Oregon State and USC.

One by one, Bolden pushed them away until only USC remained.

"I'm thinking it might be . . .," he said, picking up the cardinal-and-gold hat as if to put it on.

But then he flipped it away and said: "Nah, I ain't going to be no Trojan."

In a scene that still plays on YouTube, he reached behind his back, produced an Arizona State cap and announced that he was headed for Tempe.

If his actions seemed disrespectful -- fans in USC chat rooms were not amused -- well, there was a back story.

Bolden grew up a Trojans fan. The feeling was mutual, but USC coaches wondered if he could qualify academically. Though he tried to assure them, they hesitated to offer a scholarship.

"They could have handled the situation differently," he now says. "They chose not to."

The USC assistant who recruited him understands what happened on TV that day.

"He's just a kid," defensive line coach David Watson said. "He wanted to be a Trojan and he felt slighted."

Bolden calls it nothing more than a stunt for the cameras. Either way, he went to Arizona State and was academically cleared during training camp.

By the fifth game of the 2007 season, the 5-foot-10, 194-pound freshman became a starter and returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown to help defeat Stanford. A few games later, he tackled Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon on a play when Dixon suffered a torn knee ligament, spoiling the Ducks' run at a national championship.

By year's end, Bolden's name appeared on several freshman All-American lists. This fall, his 23 tackles rank fourth on the team.

"He's a leader back there in the secondary for us," Coach Dennis Erickson said. "He's a guy that we move around and put on different people."

But what about that TV stunt?