How Caden Bolte shed the 'coach's kid' label to carve his own path at Bemidji State
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 25—BEMIDJI — In theory, a college head coach could recruit his son easily. All he has to do is to approach him at the dinner table and say, "So, want to play for my team?"
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That's not how Bemidji State football head coach Brent Bolte went about it with his son, Caden.
Caden was a three-sport athlete for Bemidji High School, starring in football, basketball and baseball. Naturally, he started getting recruited to play football after he stood out for the Lumberjacks on defense.
Brent wanted Caden at BSU, but he stayed out of the recruiting process. Caden was talented enough to be on the team, but the last thing he wanted was for nepotism to play a role in the recruiting process.
"I took a step back," Brent said. "I told him I didn't want to have any input on it, be non-judgmental and biased with your own kid. ... I took a back seat and let him figure out where he wanted to go and make sure my staff wanted to have him here as well."
Caden's decision came down to two schools: the University of North Dakota to play Division I FCS football, or stay home at Bemidji State and play Division II football for his father.
"It came down to financially, playing time and what I wanted to do," Caden said. "And BSU worked out for me better in that regard. So here I am."
As the years have gone on, Caden has grown into one of the most productive players at Bemidji State. As a defensive back, he led the Beavers with
65 tackles in 2025
, was voted captain for 2026 and was named to
's Elite 100 watch list.
He hasn't missed a beat this season, either, leading the team in tackles (26) once again through the first four games.
Take Caden's last name out of the equation, and his resume speaks for itself. He's proved that he's more than just a coach's kid in his collegiate career. As a coach and a father, Brent couldn't be more proud.
"Obviously, it's really cool to be voted (captain) by your peers to get it because coaches have nothing to do with it," Brent said. "So if you're right, you get that (coach's kid) stigma out. He just goes and does his own deal and produces."
Seeing Caden play on the defensive side of the ball wouldn't be surprising for anyone who knows Brent.
He was a defensive coordinator for the Beavers from 2005 to 2015, and as a head coach, he prides his Beavers on their hard-nosed defensive identity.
It would only be natural for Caden to choose that side of the ball, but in his early years at BHS, he didn't choose defense at all.
"It was kind of what I got forced into," Caden explained. "Because as a freshman, I played only offense. Then I got a chance to (be) the second-string safety. So I was like, 'I'm just going to go all in on this.' And then we had an injury right away, so I was starting as a sophomore in high school.
"And I was like, 'This is who I am now. This is my role, this is where I can excel.' And I grew to love it."
Caden proved himself to be a ballhawk for the Jacks, especially his senior year in 2021. As a strong safety and an outside linebacker, he recorded
seven interceptions,
far and away the most on the team.
But what he truly loved about the defensive side of the ball was the physicality. Sure, he'd get a taste of that when he subbed in as a running back on occasion, but delivering bone-crushing hits on defense ignited his passion for it.
"I was always a kid that loved being physical," Caden said. "If I was playing running back, I'd go truck someone. Defense allowed me to do that a little bit more often and go out there and hit someone."
Throughout his BHS career, Brent would go to as many games as he could. Juggling his responsibilities as a head coach and a father wasn't easy, but the family made the "controlled chaos" work.
Bemidji State's defensive coordinator at the time, Jamie Bisch, was in charge of recruiting Caden as Brent took a step back. The last thing Caden wanted was to be on the team because of his last name.
Once he joined BSU in 2022, the team was on an upward trajectory. It made the D-II playoffs in 2021, a feat it would repeat for the next three years.
During that time, Caden was absorbing as much as he could from the older players.
"For me, it was really important not to be the nepo-baby or do anything like that," Caden said. "So I really spent a lot of time trying to be around the older guys and learn from them. (My dad) didn't coach me; he wasn't my position coach or my coordinator. So he was really just the guy that broke it down at the end of the day."
Caden fought his way onto special teams in 2023 before becoming a regular in the secondary in 2024, recording 45 tackles while BSU made its deepest run into the playoffs in program history.
Caden had the best season of his career in 2025, leading the team with 65 tackles while also recording an interception, a forced fumble and recovery and a safety.
He could've called it quits from there. While he had one year of eligibility left, he wanted to go to medical school after college. But when he didn't get in, he decided to come back to BSU for one more season.
He took a long look at the opportunity that was in front of him for 2026. He wasn't happy with how things ended last season after a scary neck injury against Minnesota Duluth sidelined him for the final game. Since he has the opportunity for one final season, he aims to make the most of it.
"I'm not going to waste an opportunity," Caden said. "I've been taking that mindset, trying to play as hard as I can and really go all in with opportunities that I get."
His last game will most likely be emotional. He's called Chet Anderson Stadium home for all of his life, from hanging out with his dad to playing on the field as a Lumberjack and a Beaver.
While he's carved his own path at BSU, Caden is proud to represent his hometown throughout high school and college.
"It's a cool area to be with a lot, a lot of great people — that's what makes the area great," he said. "The community is so tight-knit, especially in high school. The college community, they're different. But when you grow up and are in both, they start to intermix and combine. That's been something that's been really cool to see — the meshing of worlds and having the full support of everyone here."