Toledo Rockets linebacker, Daniel Bolden, is a football man from a football family. For the past two seasons, however, injury has limited his ability to make an on-field impact. But while battling his own adversity, he’s been able to make a significant impact on the community around him—leading to national recognition.
Daniel Bolden Embodies the Toledo Rockets Mantra
“Always give more than you take.”
It’s a mantra that is prevalent around the Toledo Rockets football program. It adorns the social media timelines of players and coaches alike, led by head coach Jason Candle. Within the tight-knit community of Toledo, Ohio, the mantra holds weight and carries meaning. No one carries that more than sixth-year linebacker Bolden.
“This city has given me so much, and given our program so much,” Bolden explains how that mantra and the city that he calls home inspires him to carry out the off-field work that has led to national recognition with a nomination to the 32nd AllState AFCA Good Works team. The Toledo talent was also named to the team during the 2022 college football season.
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“To be able to give back in bunches, to really take charge and go into the community and show them that we really appreciate the support they’ve given us, to give back more than what they’ve given us, is something that we strive to do every year and something that I think we’ve done a great job of doing as a school, as a university, and as a football program.”
The Glass Bowl has been described as one of America’s great football stadiums, and it’s a focal point for a community that comes together no matter what the event, but one that is united behind the football program. As he receives national attention, Bolden is acutely aware of the platform that football affords him, and how it can be used to help give back to those supporters.
“I think it’s huge,” Bolden explains. “We’ve been put in the spotlight, and we’ve been given the opportunity to use this platform to do good in the community and bring some light into the world. You know, sometimes the world can seem like a dark place, but if we use our spotlight to shine a light on some of the areas in our community, it’s huge for us to be able to do that.”
Dark Times
Bolden knows all about dark times.
Hailing from a family of rich sporting heritage, football has been his life for as long as he can remember. A team captain and MVP for Colerain High School in 2017, he started 42 consecutive games for the school, racking up impressive statistics and earning three-star status from multiple recruiting platforms in the 2018 class.
Arriving in Toledo from Cincinnati in 2018, he played all 13 games as a true freshman, starting a span of 31 appearances across his first three years with the Rockets. If it hadn’t been for the global pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the 6’1″, 248-pound linebacker would have even more appearances on his resume to go with his 2020 “Bringing the Lumber” trophy.
In 2021, however, Bolden encountered adversity that he’d never felt before in his football career. During summer training, the then-fourth-year linebacker tore his ACL, ending his season before it had even begun.
Returning to the field in the Toledo 2022 season-opener against LIU, he was hobbled by an Achilles injury that ended his season once more.
Talking to College Football Network ahead of the 2023 college football season, Bolden has now gone two years without playing the sport that he loves. It’s a level of adversity that could have crushed him, but at a time when he’s being praised for supporting the Toledo community, the Rockets’ linebacker recognizes the support that helped him overcome the dark times.
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“It was definitely one of the most difficult portions of my life,” Bolden reflects. “I’d never missed a game, never missed a practice, I was fortunate enough to make it this far without injury. To have the ACL and the Achilles back-to-back was very tough, very mentally draining on me. Especially when I was all hyped up for the first game of the season and it’s taken away.”
“But, it really shows what kind of support system you have,” Bolden continues. “I’m lucky enough to come from a family where I’m so loved and I have so much support and to have relationships with the guys on the team who really get it, and understand me and who I am as a person, to help me through those situations. I’m very thankful to have those individuals.”
Rather than dwell on the present or bury himself in past glories, Bolden used the enforced absence from the football field to concentrate on his future. The idea of not being around football has never entered his mind, and for the past two years, he’s taken on something of a coaching role that he hopes will be the long-term career path for his post-playing days.
“I want to get into coaching college football,” Bolden explains. “I was lucky enough to be in all the meetings, to step into more of a coaching role. It gave me an insight and showed me that is truly what I love to do, and that is what I plan on doing. It was also very important to me staying mentally in a good spot, not falling off the deep end, or feeling like I wasn’t part of the team.”
Bolden Keeps His Eyes on the Future
Keeping an eye on the future helped Bolden overcome his own adversity and emerge from the darkness. The future, and particularly the next generation, is an important part of how the Toledo linebacker positions himself as a pillar in the local community. A number of the initiatives he’s involved with center around creating a better life for children in the Ohio area.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo have a vision to ensure that success is within the reach of every child. Their mission statement focuses on the belief that every child deserves a safe place to learn and grow. They provide life-enhancing programs designed to offer hope and opportunity for the future. With several locations in Toledo, it’s a large part of Bolden’s work.
“Every time we go to the Boys and Girls Club, I have a blast,” Bolden begins.
“We go play games, hang out, tell our stories. It’s cool to get in there, and you might get a kid who’s really quiet, had a bad day, isn’t in the best mood, and hasn’t been put in the best situation, and to be able to go in and brighten their day and let them know that everything is going to be okay, if you keep pushing good things are going to come.”
“It’s always great to put a smile on those kids’ faces and hopefully brighten their day because I know they brighten mine.”
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In addition to his work with the Boys and Girls Clubs, Bolden has also been a presence in the many preschools, elementary, and middle schools in the Toledo area. The Rockets linebacker has also helped out with Cherry Street Mission Ministries, the Glass City Marathon, the Toledo Zoo, the Miracle Network Dance Marathon, and the Toledo Northwestern Food Bank.
However, it’s clear that his work with ensuring a better life for the next generation of the Toledo community is at the forefront of his endeavors.
It transpires that his inspiration to be involved in that area of charitable work comes from a place of experience. Giving was “instilled” in him by his parents and grandparents and developed by his own interactions as a child in Ohio.
“It’s a big part of my life,” Bolden elaborates. “Growing up, I always looked up to the high school kids that were playing at the school I went to. They would come down and speak at our elementary schools. I’d heard college and professional athletes speak and it really gave me hope and gave me inspiration that things were going to work out, things were going to be better.”
“I think that being able to be in that position now, I feel like I need to do those things and go and tell the next generation to keep your head down, keep working, and you can do more than you ever imagine.”
As he prepares for the 2023 college football season after two years on the sideline, Bolden knows things are going to work out. He’s kept his head down, he’s kept working, and with his achievements in the local community, he’s given back more than anyone could possibly imagine.
That’s the Toledo mantra.
