DOG ON TARGET Georgia’s Frix nears finish line of ‘perfect’ career
ATHENS, Ga. — Going unnoticed on the football field is the name of the game for Georgia senior Trent Frix, and he wants to keep it that way.
The 6-foot, 211-pounder from Calhoun is the snapper for the Bulldogs, following in the footsteps of his father and his older brother. Frix has yet to have a snap go awry, and he hopes that can continue Saturday afternoon when Georgia (5-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) hosts No. 9 Auburn (7-2, 5-1).
“Just doing the same thing over and over again is the toughest part of my job,” said Frix, who was awarded a scholarship by new Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart in August. “You basically have to be perfect to be a long snapper, so you have to do the same thing over and over the same way.”
Georgia had its best special-teams performance of the season in last Saturday night’s 27-24 win at Kentucky, with redshirt freshman Rodrigo Blankenship going 4-for4 on field-goal attempts and true freshman Marshall Long averaging 41.2 yards on five punts. Those totals would not have been possible had Frix not placed the snaps where they needed to be.
“He’s been solid as a rock,” Smart said. “He had played some games prior to this season and snapped some, so he gave us a little experience and leadership in that group of specialists. He has consistently performed well, and he works really hard in practice.
“He played on some special teams last year when he wasn’t even the snapper. He played on kickoff return and punt return, so he’s a pretty good athlete.”
Frix is the son of Mitch Frix, who was the snapper for Georgia’s 1981-82 Southeastern Conference championship team. Older brother Ty was Georgia’s snapper from 2009 to 2012, going unnoticed after a freshman miscue of snapping the ball over the head of punter Drew Butler in a 41-37 win against South Carolina. Ty graduated in May 2012 with a degree in biological engineering and is currently a neighbor to his younger brother, who considers him part older brother and part coach.
“My dad did some snapping in high school, and he actually came here as a walk-on center,” Frix said. “They asked the first day if anybody could snap, and he raised his hand because he did it in high school. The coach picked him out.
“My dad taught Ty when Ty was in seventh grade, and I just learned because my brother was doing it.”
The latest Frix snapper arrived at Georgia in 2013 after spending a year at the Air Force Academy. He played in six games in 2013 and was noticed in a good way during a 44-41 win over LSU, hitting Odell Beckham after Beckham bobbled a punt to allow Bulldogs teammate Connor Norman to recover the loose ball.
Frix played in 16 career games before this season, when he split time with Nathan Theus, but snapping has been his role this season. A big part of his job has been meshing with a new holder, five-star freshman quarterback Jacob Eason.
“He’s a great holder,” Frix said. “He’s a big target, so I’m glad about that, but he’s a great target with great hands. If I just get it back there, he’s going to make the hold.”
“He’s been solid as a rock. He had played some games prior to this season and snapped some, so he gave us a little experience and leadership in that group of specialists. He has consistently performed well, and he works really hard in practice.” – KIRBY SMART
Once Frix finishes his Georgia career, there will be the question of who continues to carry the torch from Calhoun High School. Since receiver Kris Durham signed with the Bulldogs in 2006, there has always been at least one former Yellow Jacket on the Georgia roster, with former walk-on receiver Rhett McGowan (2011-13) included in that list.
Before being the last in that line, Frix led Calhoun to state titles in football and baseball while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. The Jackets have won 16 straight region titles and will begin the quest for another state title when the GHSA playoffs begin Friday.
“There is just something with that program,” Frix said. “Coach (Hal) Lamb is a great coach. He instills hard work in us, and I think that’s the main thing. You get here and work hard, and if you get the opportunity, you try to shine.”
Focusing on the now
Blankenship has made nine consecutive field-goal attempts for the Bulldogs, but his father told media outlets this week that he would not be at Georgia next season if he is not placed on scholarship.
Blankenship was made available to reporters following Wednesday’s twohour workout and was asked about his father’s comments.
“I just need to take each week one week at a time,” he said. “I just want to focus on the aspects of my life that I can control, and that’s just trying to kick as well as I can on a daily basis and kick as well as I can on Saturdays.”