ASU's Bolden strugges to get read on new system

The postgame prayer huddle over on Saturday, Omar Bolden stood to shake hands with one of the Georgia players that had spent much of the previous three hours going after him, quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Bulldogs running back Knowshon Moreno was next, sharing a hug and hearty laugh with Bolden, the Arizona State cornerback. For Bolden, the exchange of pleasantries was a brief respite between a second straight tough game and the resulting placement under the microscope.

Expected to build on a 2007 season in which he received freshman All-America honors, the 5-foot-10, 191-pound Bolden has struggled to adjust to a new system under a new position coach. He has had difficulty reading opposing receivers and not had something that all cornerbacks must possess - a short-term memory of failure.

"I'm not going to lie," Bolden said. "I'm a little discouraged. I've been disappointed at my performance. I'm beating myself up a bit."

Bolden's struggles might have been foreshadowed three weeks ago against Stanford, when he was whistled for consecutive third-quarter pass-interference penalties. Nevada-Las Vegas wideouts Phillip Payne and Ryan Wolfe had success against Bolden, and on Saturday, true freshman Georgia receiver A.J. Green did most of his damage (eight catches for 159 yards) opposite him.

His second-guessing, Bolden said, has not suffocated the confidence that helped the celebrated recruit win a starting job as a true freshman. With a group of reporters taking his temperature after a recent practice, Bolden sat on his helmet and said that his troubles are temporary.

"Last year, I had it easy," Bolden said. "It was easy for me to forget what happened. I had that short-term memory. Now, I feel that I'm supposed to be the lockdown corner, so when I get beat, it frustrates me. I have to get my short-term memory back."

In some respects, Bolden is going through the growing pains of learning a position. He starred at Colony High School in Ontario, Calif., as a running back, not playing cornerback until his senior season.

"To an extent, he's still learning, but I don't talk to him that way," first-year cornerbacks coach Greg Burns said. "There are no excuses. You come out, work hard, and for the most part, you know what you need to get done. There are going to be some new experiences, new techniques, but your basic responsibilities should put you in the right position.

"He understands that. I try not to give him an excuse."

In 2007, Bolden often utilized press coverage, a style he feels more suited to. The Sun Devil cornerbacks have backed off under Burns.

"It's been difficult," Bolden said. "Last year, we had our technique. This year, it's something completely different, which is a little irritating to me, because I haven't played on the corner all that much. Learning two techniques in two years is rough."

Bolden indicated that some fundamental techniques are troubling him. Playing off receivers, he has been slow on reads. That problem was exacerbated by Green, who typically lined up toward the hash marks, giving him a variety of route options - out, in, fade, post - to choose from.

"When you are playing back from a receiver, you have to read them," Bolden said. "I can read the receivers' body language here, because we go against them every day. But when I'm in a game, it's hard for me to get a feel for them. I have to do more film study."

The most successful portion of Bolden's two-week test of will came when he employed a more aggressive style in the second half against Georgia, when Green was held to just one catch.

"We held them to six points in the second half," Bolden said. "It's something to build on."

With ASU off this week and his problems, he feels, easily correctable, Bolden expects to be a different player when the Sun Devils take the field at California on Oct.4.

"Ups and downs, smiles and frowns," Bolden said. "I'm a fighter, and I'll get back. Don't worry about me."