Sophomore kicker Rodrigo Blankenship enjoying big year with Bulldogs
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia redshirt sophomore Rodrigo Blankenship was recently named a semifinalist for the prestigious Lou Groza Award, which is given annually to college football’s top kicker.
If Blankenship can be tabbed a semifinalist two more times, he will match the accomplishment of Saturday’s counterpart inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn senior Daniel Carlson is the leading scorer in Southeastern Conference history and was a finalist for the Groza Award the past two seasons.
“It’s great that I’m being considered,” Blankenship said after last Saturday’s 24-10 win over South Carolina, “but it’s not critical to this season and my happiness in this season. What’s going to be critical to my happiness is being the best asset I can be for this team and putting us in the best position to win that I can.”
Blankenship, Carlson and Texas A&M’s Daniel LaCamera are the SEC’s representatives among the 20 Groza semifinalists.
A 6-foot-1, 191-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Blankenship has made 11 of 12 field-goal attempts this season, with his lone miss coming from 44 yards at Notre Dame on Sept. 9. He rebounded against the Fighting Irish by making a 30-yard attempt with 3:34 remaining that proved to be the difference in the 20-19 triumph.
In the 53-28 win over Missouri on Oct. 14, Blankenship tallied five extra points and four field goals for a 17-point output.
“He’s been doing an awesome job this year,” Georgia graduate transfer punter Cameron Nizialek said. “He’s really excited about being a semifinalist, but I think he wants to make the top three and keep going.”
This time last year, Blankenship was coming off a 4-for-4 showing in field-goal attempts at Kentucky, which included a 25-yarder as time expired to propel the Bulldogs to a 27-24 victory. Blankenship became a fan favorite of the Bulldogs by not only making those kicks but conducting an SEC Network interview afterward while still wearing his helmet.
Things then became awkward for several months when Blankenship’s father, Ken, became outspoken about his son deserving a scholarship. Blankenship was awarded a scholarship before the trip to Notre Dame.
“It’s definitely been a little easier going through this season, but I think the biggest reason for that is our team’s success,” he said. “When we step on the field for practice or for games, it’s all business, and it’s the same for me personally.”
Blankenship was accurate on field-goal attempts last season, making 14 of 18 tries, and his biggest jump this season has occurred on kickoffs. After having just 21 of 55 kickoffs (38.2 percent) go for touchbacks last season, Blankenship has produced 44 in 60 opportunities (73.3 percent) this year, including a September streak of 18 in a row.
The 6-foot-4, 223-pound Carlson, meanwhile, is already an SEC kicking legend by every standard.
Carlson’s 440 career points are the most in league history, leaving behind the former Georgia trio of Blair Walsh (412), Billy Bennett (409) and Marshall Morgan (407). His 182 consecutive extra points surpassed the SEC mark of 161 set by former Red Bank High School and University of Tennessee standout John Becksvoort.
Carlson has a career mark of 84-of-104 on field-goal attempts (80.8 percent), and 54 of 65 kickoffs this season (83.1 percent) have gone for touchbacks.
“He’s an incredibly talented kicker, and I admire what he’s done,” Blankenship said. “He’s the all-time scoring leader in the SEC.”